Identification of Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus in the prepuce, semen, and vulvar secretions of swine

Abstract

In successful artificial insemination (AI) programs, it is critical that AI studs produce high-quality semen samples. Samples presenting bacterial contamination reduce in vitro sperm quality and also act as vehicles for disease transmission. The objective of this study was to identify the presence of bacteria contaminants in the vulvar secretion of inseminated sows and in semen and preputial secretion of the boars used as semen donors and to relate such presence with clinical findings. Three crossbred F1 boars and 15 sows from a commercial swine farm were evaluated. The microorganism isolated from the vulva, prepuce and sperm were submitted to biochemical and stain characterization. One of the evaluated boars presented clinical signs of genital infection. From the five sows inseminated with semen from such boar, three returned to estrus after AI and two presented purulent vulvar discharge. Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus were the agents isolated from the samples. Simultaneous contamination with both agents was observed in two boars and in 20% of the sows. The presence of E. coli as a single contaminant was only observed in females (13%), whereas the presence S. aureus alone was observed in both sexes. The presence of pathogens in the examined samples suggests that it might be responsible for the low reproductive performance in the herd.