Treatment of Repeat Breeding in Dairy Cows with Lugol’s Iodine

Abstract

This study was carried out to see whether the uteri of dairy cows suffering from repeat breeder syndrome are infected with bacteria or not. Furthermore, the efficacy of intra-uterine infusion of diluted Lugol's iodine to treat this syndrome was tested by studying two reproductive traits, the rate of service per conception and the length of the days open (DO). Sixty cross-bred dairy cows that were diagnosed as repeat breeders were used. A transcervical guarded sterile disposable swabs were collected from the endometria of the cows. The swabs were transferred to sterile test tubes and were cultured aerobically onto a pre-equilibrated MacConkey blood agar within 2 hour of collection. The bacteria were identified based on the characteristic of the colonies, Gram-staining and their morphology. The bacterial growth was scored semi-quantitatively. The bacteriological examination revealed that the uteri of all the repeat breeder cows are infected. The cows were then distributed randomly to three groups, group A (n = 20 cows) was intra-uterine infused with 1% Lugol's iodine 6 hours pre-servicing, group B (n = 20 cows) was infused with the same solution 6 hours post-servicing and a control group (n = 20 cows) was serviced without treatment. Intra-uterine infusion of diluted Lugol's iodine 6 hours pre or post servicing significantly (P<0.001) reduced the rate of service per conception and the length of the DO compared to the control. It is concluded that, the repeat breeding syndrome in dairy cows, is most likely caused by sub-clinical endometritis and can be treated successfully with intra-uterine infusion of 1% Lugol's iodine.