That's what researchers at the University of Zaragoza in Huesca, Spain, concluded in a study published in the October 2009 issue of Theriogenology. Neospora caninum — a parasite known to cause abortions in cattle populations — was the focus of the study, which identified the N. caninum status (positive or negative) of 92 aborting cows. Of the group, 68 cows were N. caninum-positive and 24 were N. caninum-negative. Normal uterine involution was verified at first insemination after abortion in cows showing signs of estrus within 30 days of the abortion. Researchers found the following results when the two groups were compared:
Fifty three cows in the N. caninum-positive group were inseminated within 30 days of aborting with a 49 percent success rate. In the N. caninum-negative group, only one animal was inseminated within 30 days of aborting.
Of the 92 cows in the study, 73 (79.3 percent) became pregnant; 57 of these animals confirmed pregnant were from the N. caninum-positive group and 16 from the N. caninum-negative group.
The time from abortion to first service, services per pregnancy and time from abortion to pregnancy were lower for cows in the N. caninum-positive group.
N. caninum-positive cows were 6.22 times more likely to become pregnant after first service compared to their N. caninum-negative counterparts.
Researchers concluded that N. caninum-positive cows that experience an abortion can be reinseminated with the high likelihood of pregnancy. Read more.