[Efficiency of bacteriological culture and the immunofluorescent assay to detect Campylobacter fetus in bovine genital fluids].

Bovine genital campylobacteriosis is a reproductive disease that affects cattle production. It is caused by Campylobacter fetus subspecies, C. fetus fetus (Cff) and C. fetus venerealis (Cfv). The aim of this study was to identify the presence of C. fetus in genital fluids by bacteriological culture and direct immunofluorescence (DIF) and to compare the results. Two groups of 6 heifers and 5 bulls, one infected with Cff (Cff group) and the other with Cfv (Cfv group) were formed. Two heifers and 2 bulls, all of them uninfected, made up the control group. Samples of cervicovaginal mucus and preputial fluid were processed by culture and DIF. In the Cff group, 100% of the heifers and 80% of the bulls were infected, while in the Cfv group, 50% of the heifers and 60% of the bulls were infected. The degree of agreement (Kappa values) from benchmarking diagnostic techniques were 0.57 for heifers in the Cff group and 0.52 for heifers in the Cfv group, whereas the values for bulls were 0.17 and 0.27, respectively. Heifers yielded more positive results in the DIF assay than in the culture, exhibiting 5.6% increase in the Cff group and 7.4% in the Cfv group. The lowest percentage of positive results for DIF in bulls, 40% less for the Cff group and 5.2% for the Cfv group, could be due to improper sampling. Kappa values showed moderate agreement for the heifers and low for the bulls.