Effects of experimental Trypanosoma vivax infection on first-, second-, and third-trimester pregnancy in heifers

The effects of Trypanosoma vivax on pregnancy were studied in 18 heifers. The heifers were bred by a proven bull and divided into three groups of six heifers each. In the first group, four heifers were infected with T . vivax on Day 60 (first trimester) of pregnancy; two other pregnant heifers were uninfected controls. The second and third groups were similarly infected in the fourth (second trimester) and seventh (third trimester) month of pregnancy. One infected heifer in the first-trimester group aborted 39 days postinfection (p.i.); the remaining three had relatively normal gestation and parturition. In the second-trimester group, the pregnancies were carried to term with normal deliveries. In the third-trimester group, three infected heifers (75%) had premature deliveries while the fourth died about three hours after the full-term calf was pulled out. All of the control heifers had normal gestation and parturition. No gross abnormalities were seen in the placentae of the infected heifers, but histological sections of the heifers infected in the third trimester of pregnancy revealed more mononuclear cells than in those of the uninfected controls. Postmortem examination of the dead premature calves showed lymphadenopathy, splenomegaly, serous atrophy of perirenal and pelvic fat, epicardial petechiae, and blood-tinged peritoneal and pericardial fluids. Histologically, there were slight myocardial haemorrhages and edema. T. vivax was recovered from the blood of one of the premature calves. Both birth weights and PCV were affected by the experimental maternal infection in the first- and third-trimester calves. The birth weights and PCV of calves of infected dams were lower than those for the calves of the control heifers. This work therefore demonstrates transplacental transmission of T. vivax in heifers.