Treating Biofilms and Latent Infections in Mares

Suspect a biofilm or latent infection if bacterial endometritis is treated appropriately, but the infection persists.
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Bacterial endometritis (inflammation of the lining of the uterus, called the endometrium) is a common cause of infertility in broodmares. Unfortunately, it can also be a challenging condition to treat due to the bacteria forming biofilms (a group of bacteria surrounded by a matrix that is protected from the host immune system and antibiotic treatment) or becoming dormant.

Due to the significant costs of treating biofilms (in humans, an estimated $1 billion annually), equine researchers have recently begun studying biofilms’ role in chronic infections to better learn how to combat them. Ryan Ferris, DVM, MS, Dipl. ACT, an assistant professor at Colorado State University’s Equine Reproduction Laboratory, in Fort Collins, described biofilms in detail and his methods for eradicating them during the 2016 Theriogenology Conference, held July 27-30 in Asheville, North Carolina.

“Bacteria live two different lifestyles: as single free-floating cells and as a community in a biofilm,” Ferris explained, adding that the latter can adapt to their uterine environment and are resistant to traditional antibiotic treatments.

The single free-floating bacteria cause acute infections that are easily treated with antibiotics, whereas biofilms establish chronic infections tolerant to antibiotics and protected from the phagocytes the body uses to engulf and kill bacteria

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Alexandra Beckstett, a native of Houston, Texas, is a lifelong horse owner who has shown successfully on the national hunter/jumper circuit and dabbled in hunter breeding. After graduating from Duke University, she joined Blood-Horse Publications as assistant editor of its book division, Eclipse Press, before joining The Horse. She was the managing editor of The Horse for nearly 14 years and is now editorial director of EquiManagement and My New Horse, sister publications of The Horse.

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