Evaluation of the field application of PCR in the eradication of contagious equine metritis from Japan

The effectiveness of the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) as a field application test for the eradication of contagious equine metritis (CEM) was evaluated. Seven-thousands five-hundred and thirty-four genital swabs were collected from 4,026 Thoroughbred broodmares and stallions in Japan to test "high risk" horses as well as for general surveillance testing from 1998 to 2001. Bacterial isolation as well as PCR testing of original specimens and cultured specimens was performed for detection of Taylorella equigenitalis from genital swabs. As a result, T. equigenitalis was detected in 12 mares and 1 stallion by PCR, although the bacteria were isolated from only 2 of the PCR-positive mares. CEM-infected and carrier horses were treated by a combination of chemotherapy and surgery. Subsequent follow-up testing over a 3-year period did not detect T equigenitalis. It was demonstrated that PCR testing was more sensitive than isolation as a method for the detection of T. equigenitalis from genital swabs of horses in the field. It was therefore suggested that a combination of PCR testing and treatment were useful measures in the eradication of CEM from Japan.