Arizona Stallion Reported Positive for CEM

A stallion in Arizona has tested positive for contagious equine metrititis (CEM), a sexually transmitted …
Share
Favorite
Close

No account yet? Register

ADVERTISEMENT

The Arizona Department of Agriculture (ADA) announced today (July 26) the quarantine of five horses on a Maricopa County premises after a stallion tested positive for contagious equine metrititis (CEM), a sexually transmitted disease. The disease can cause spontaneous abortion and infertility in mares.

"This disease can be carried by stallions and mares, and transmitted even through modern breeding practices of artificial insemination and embryo transfer," said John Hunt, DVM, ADA associate director for animal services. "Because many animals don’t show symptoms, CEM can be difficult to detect and control."

The state is working with federal partners to trace mares that were bred to the positive stallion–a 4-year-old Arabian–this breeding season. Farm records indicate that the stallion’s semen was shipped to three states (at press time the three states had not yet been reported). The stallion was tested as part of a protocol to allow international shipment of semen. All semen collection has been suspended from the quarantined stallions and all currently frozen semen has been quarantined, as well.

A highly contagious venereal infection of all equids, CEM is caused by the bacterium Taylorella equigenitalis and is a transmissible, exotic venereal disease in horses. It usually results in infertility in mares and, on rare occasions, can cause mares to spontaneously abort. Infected stallions exhibit no clinical signs but can carry the CEM bacteria for years. The disease is commonly transmitted during sexual intercourse but also might be transmitted indirectly through artificial insemination or contact with contaminated hands or objects

Create a free account with TheHorse.com to view this content.

TheHorse.com is home to thousands of free articles about horse health care. In order to access some of our exclusive free content, you must be signed into TheHorse.com.

Start your free account today!

Already have an account?
and continue reading.

Share

Written by:

Related Articles

Stay on top of the most recent Horse Health news with

FREE weekly newsletters from TheHorse.com

Sponsored Content

Weekly Poll

sponsored by:

How much time do you usually spend grooming your horse?
439 votes · 439 answers

Readers’ Most Popular

Sign In

Don’t have an account? Register for a FREE account here.

Need to update your account?

You need to be logged in to fill out this form

Create a free account with TheHorse.com!