The Cultivable Bacteria Colonizing Canine Vagina During Proestrus and Estrus: A Large-Scale Retrospective Study of Influencing Factors

Background: The evaluation of canine vaginal bacteria during proestrus and estrus and the chosen parameters will help to prevent the misuse of antibiotics in veterinary medicine. Methods: This study carried out a retrospective analysis to obtain microbiological examination results for vaginal swabs...

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Main Authors: Sabine Schäfer-Somi, Dominik Lechner, Alexander Tichy, Joachim Spergser
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2024-11-01
Series:Animals
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2615/14/23/3460
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author Sabine Schäfer-Somi
Dominik Lechner
Alexander Tichy
Joachim Spergser
author_facet Sabine Schäfer-Somi
Dominik Lechner
Alexander Tichy
Joachim Spergser
author_sort Sabine Schäfer-Somi
collection DOAJ
description Background: The evaluation of canine vaginal bacteria during proestrus and estrus and the chosen parameters will help to prevent the misuse of antibiotics in veterinary medicine. Methods: This study carried out a retrospective analysis to obtain microbiological examination results for vaginal swabs from 696 healthy dogs, all of whom were patients from one clinic. Age, body weight, fur length (long or short hair), the time of sampling of vaginal swabs, the duration of proestrus/estrus, progesterone (P4) concentration (the first and last samples), and bacteriological findings were evaluated. Results: Only 3.7% (26/696) of the samples were negative for bacteria. The impact of fur length was low. However, the calculation of the odds ratios revealed that the chance for a high-grade growth of <i>Escherichia</i> (<i>E.</i>) <i>coli</i> and <i>Mycoplasma</i> (<i>M.</i>) <i>canis</i> increases with body weight class. The earlier the sampling was performed, the lower the number of high-grade cultures (<i>p</i> < 0.01). The duration between the first and last measurement of progesterone (P4) was positively related to the cultural detection of <i>Pasteurellaceae</i>, <i>Streptococcus</i> spp., and <i>Enterococcus</i> spp. (<i>p</i> < 0.05) and negatively to the cultivation of <i>Mycoplasma</i> spp. (<i>p</i> < 0.01). Conclusions: Our findings reflect some likely factors contributing to the variability of the physiological vaginal flora in dogs, which may help interpret cultured bacteriological findings.
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spelling doaj-art-2f6ddca27d77438b8d6a791977fd28862025-08-20T02:38:46ZengMDPI AGAnimals2076-26152024-11-011423346010.3390/ani14233460The Cultivable Bacteria Colonizing Canine Vagina During Proestrus and Estrus: A Large-Scale Retrospective Study of Influencing FactorsSabine Schäfer-Somi0Dominik Lechner1Alexander Tichy2Joachim Spergser3Clinical Center for Reproduction, University of Veterinary Medicine Vienna, 1210 Vienna, AustriaClinical Center for Reproduction, University of Veterinary Medicine Vienna, 1210 Vienna, AustriaInstitute for Bioinformatics and Biostatistics, University of Veterinary Medicine Vienna, 1210 Vienna, AustriaCenter for Pathobiology, University of Veterinary Medicine Vienna, 1210 Vienna, AustriaBackground: The evaluation of canine vaginal bacteria during proestrus and estrus and the chosen parameters will help to prevent the misuse of antibiotics in veterinary medicine. Methods: This study carried out a retrospective analysis to obtain microbiological examination results for vaginal swabs from 696 healthy dogs, all of whom were patients from one clinic. Age, body weight, fur length (long or short hair), the time of sampling of vaginal swabs, the duration of proestrus/estrus, progesterone (P4) concentration (the first and last samples), and bacteriological findings were evaluated. Results: Only 3.7% (26/696) of the samples were negative for bacteria. The impact of fur length was low. However, the calculation of the odds ratios revealed that the chance for a high-grade growth of <i>Escherichia</i> (<i>E.</i>) <i>coli</i> and <i>Mycoplasma</i> (<i>M.</i>) <i>canis</i> increases with body weight class. The earlier the sampling was performed, the lower the number of high-grade cultures (<i>p</i> < 0.01). The duration between the first and last measurement of progesterone (P4) was positively related to the cultural detection of <i>Pasteurellaceae</i>, <i>Streptococcus</i> spp., and <i>Enterococcus</i> spp. (<i>p</i> < 0.05) and negatively to the cultivation of <i>Mycoplasma</i> spp. (<i>p</i> < 0.01). Conclusions: Our findings reflect some likely factors contributing to the variability of the physiological vaginal flora in dogs, which may help interpret cultured bacteriological findings.https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2615/14/23/3460dogsvaginabacteriamycoplasmaestrus
spellingShingle Sabine Schäfer-Somi
Dominik Lechner
Alexander Tichy
Joachim Spergser
The Cultivable Bacteria Colonizing Canine Vagina During Proestrus and Estrus: A Large-Scale Retrospective Study of Influencing Factors
Animals
dogs
vagina
bacteria
mycoplasma
estrus
title The Cultivable Bacteria Colonizing Canine Vagina During Proestrus and Estrus: A Large-Scale Retrospective Study of Influencing Factors
title_full The Cultivable Bacteria Colonizing Canine Vagina During Proestrus and Estrus: A Large-Scale Retrospective Study of Influencing Factors
title_fullStr The Cultivable Bacteria Colonizing Canine Vagina During Proestrus and Estrus: A Large-Scale Retrospective Study of Influencing Factors
title_full_unstemmed The Cultivable Bacteria Colonizing Canine Vagina During Proestrus and Estrus: A Large-Scale Retrospective Study of Influencing Factors
title_short The Cultivable Bacteria Colonizing Canine Vagina During Proestrus and Estrus: A Large-Scale Retrospective Study of Influencing Factors
title_sort cultivable bacteria colonizing canine vagina during proestrus and estrus a large scale retrospective study of influencing factors
topic dogs
vagina
bacteria
mycoplasma
estrus
url https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2615/14/23/3460
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