No increase in pregnancy rate of mares after preovulatory deep uterine horn application of misoprostol.

A potential source of fertility loss in mares is oviductal dysfunction, potentially caused by masses or debris in the lumen, that may prevent either sperm from reaching the fertilization site or the embryo from reaching the uterus. Recently a novel therapeutic method leading to increased pregnancy results was described by infusing misoprostol, a synthetic prostaglandin E1, in the uterus of mares with unexplained fertility problems. In this study, we aimed, after examining the compatibility of misoprostol with semen, to evaluate the pregnancy rate after routine preovulatory deep uterine horn application of misoprostol in clinically normal oestrous mares, which were inseminated in the same cycle. In experiment 1, ejaculates of 10 stallions diluted with INRA 96™ were mixed with different concentrations of misoprostol (0.01 mg/mL, 0.001 mg/mL, 0.0001 mg/mL, and 0.00001 mg/mL) and total semen motility was evaluated immediately, 12, 24, 48, and 72 h later, and compared with a control sample (mixed with NaCl 0.9%). In experiments 2 and 3, 33 privately-owned clinically normal oestrous mares were each allocated to a treatment or control group. Ovulation was then induced with intramuscularly 2.25 mg deslorelin acetate. At the moment of ovulation induction (experiment 2) and 24 h earlier (experiment 3), 0.2 mg misoprostol diluted in 2 mL NaCl 0.9% were applied deep in the uterine horn (treatment groups) and pure 2 mL NaCl 0.9% in the mares of the control groups. Mares were then inseminated 24 h after deslorelin administration and prior to ovulation with commercial chilled-warmed or frozen-thawed semen, as well as immediately after ovulation detection (both types of semen) maximally 48 h after ovulation induction. In experiment 1, regardless of time and compared with the control groups, all solutions with different concentrations of misoprostol had a negative effect on total motility of semen, which was significant for the highest concentrations (0.01 mg/mL: 18.0% reduction, CI = 22-13%, p = < 0.01). We found no beneficial effect of preovulatory uterine treatment with misoprostol on pregnancy rate (OR = 0.45, CI = 0.15-1.31, p = 0.14): in experiment 2, 2/11 (18.2%) mares of the treatment group became pregnant vs. 12/22 (54.5%) mares in the control group (OR = 0.19, CI = 0.03-1.06, p = 0.07), in experiment 3, 5/14 (35.7%) mares in the treatment group vs. 7/19 (36.8%) mares in the control group (OR = 0.95, CI = 0.23-4.02, p = 0.95), respectively. In conclusion, pregnancy rate was not increased in reproductively normal mares with routine preovulatory deep uterine horn application of misoprostol.

Stay alert: probability of African Swine Fever introduction from Eastern Asia is almost as high as from Eastern Europe.

INTRODUCTION: African Swine Fever (ASF) is a severe viral disease infecting all suid species. Since the first outbreak in Georgia in 2007, it has slowly spread towards Western Europe and reached the European Union when first cases were detected in Poland and the Baltic States in 2014. ASF was first reported in China in 2018 and since then, it has spread to 14 countries within two years. This study aimed to estimate the introduction probability of ASF from Eastern Asia in a qualitative risk assessment, and to compare it to the probability from Eastern Europe, which was assessed in an earlier risk assessment. A high probability of introduction was estimated for the import of meat and meat products, which was found to be the most likely route of introduction. Less important routes were introduction by human contamination (low probability) or import of feed or blood products (very low probability). Import of domestic pigs or free-ranging wild boar, contaminated means of transport, or infected semen, embryo or ticks were all estimated to be negligible. For Eastern Europe, import of meat and meat products was also estimated to pose a high risk and was therefore the most likely route of introduction. Higher probabilities were estimated for import of live pigs, contaminated feed or means of transport and human contamination. Overall, the probability of introduction from Eastern Asia is only slightly lower than from Eastern Europe. As it is important to detect the first case as quickly as possible, it is important not to fall victim to habituation effects, but to remain vigilant.

INTRODUCTION: La peste porcine africaine (PPA) est une maladie virale grave qui infecte toutes les espèces de suidés. Depuis le premier foyer en Géorgie en 2007, elle s'est lentement propagée vers l'Europe occidentale et a atteint l'Union européenne lorsque les premiers cas ont été détectés en Pologne et dans les États baltes en 2014. La PPA a été signalée pour la première fois en Chine en 2018 et depuis lors, elle s'est propagée dans 14 pays en deux ans. Cette étude visait à estimer la probabilité d'introduction de la PPA en provenance d'Asie orientale par une évaluation qualitative des risques et à la comparer à la probabilité en provenance d'Europe de l'Est, qui a été estimée dans une évaluation des risques antérieure. Une forte probabilité d'introduction a été estimée pour l'importation de viande et de produits carnés, qui s'est avérée être la voie d'introduction la plus probable. Les voies moins importantes étaient l'introduction par contamination humaine (faible probabilité) ou l'importation d'aliments pour animaux ou de produits sanguins (très faible probabilité). Les importations de porcs domestiques ou de sangliers sauvages, de moyens de transport contaminés ou de sperme, d'embryons ou de tiques infectés ont tous été estimés négligeables. Concernant l'Europe de l'Est, l'importation de viande et de produits carnés était également considérée comme présentant un risque élevé et était donc la voie d'introduction la plus probable. Des probabilités plus élevées ont été estimées pour l'importation de porcs vivants, d'aliments ou de moyens de transport contaminés et de contamination humaine. Dans l'ensemble, la probabilité d'introduction depuis L'Asie orientale n'est que légèrement inférieure à celle de l'Europe de l'Est. Comme il est essentiel de détecter le premier cas le plus rapidement possible, il est important de ne pas être victime d'effets d'accoutumance, mais de rester vigilant.