Endometritis remains a major cause of reduced reproductive efficiency in dairy cattle, necessitating practical methods for clinical detection and identification of bacterial etiology under farm conditions. The aim of this exploratory field study was to evaluate the practical applicability of a complex diagnostic protocol utilizing a novel portable endovideo-vaginoscope custom-designed for farm use. The device features autonomous heating (to prevent lens fogging), Wi-Fi data transmission, and smartphone integration and was used alongside laboratory verification. In the Abai region of Kazakhstan, 100 Holstein-Friesian cows were screened on days 20-30 postpartum. Clinical signs of endometritis were detected in 21 animals (21%) by video-vaginoscopy, after which uterine contents from affected cows were aseptically collected for bacteriological culture and PCR analysis. Under the aerobic culture conditions used, laboratory findings most frequently identified Escherichia coli and/or Staphylococcus aureus, including in mixed bacterial infections. PCR analysis identified the fimH gene in E. coli-positive material and the nuc gene in S. aureus-positive material, supporting the bacterial etiology of the inflammation visualized instrumentally. Antimicrobial susceptibility testing revealed a high prevalence of resistance to ampicillin and oxytetracycline among the isolates, whereas gentamicin and cephalosporins demonstrated high in vitro activity. The novelty of this study lies in the field validation of a portable device with thermostabilization and wireless archiving capabilities. Overall, the results indicate that this protocol, combined with molecular verification, provides a practical field-adapted approach for the diagnosis and monitoring of postpartum uterine health in remote farm settings.
Muratbayev et al. (Wed,) studied this question.