[Oxytetracycline treatment of cows with long-standing brucellosis]

Forty-five brucella infected cows were studied 15 to 30 days following abortion. Eighteen cows were slaughtered and autopsied for examination of Brucella in the organs and lymph nodes. The remaining 27 cows were treated during two and one-half months and then slaughtered after undergoing a treatment with 0, 1, 2 or 3 intraperitoneal injections of oxytetracycline dissolved in 100 ml of physiological saline. The treatment modified only slightly the natural evolution of antibody titers. The levels of infection were similar for all cows which received no treatment. Cows treated with oxytetracycline had less severe infection than the non treated animals and four were infection-free at slaughter. The level of infection of treated cows was independant of the treatment regime. The advantages of treating non pregnant cows to reduce the level of infection and risk of abortion were discussed.