Roger W. Ellis DVM
Colorado State University
Extension Veterinarian

In November 2007, the Colorado Department of Agriculture issued a press release to alert cattle owners of increased findings of Trichomoniasis in Colorado cattle herds.  This statement was issued in reference particularly to an ongoing outbreak in counties in southeastern Colorado.  Regions throughout Colorado have had some existing occurrences of Trichomoniasis for many years.  Through 2007, of 10,032 bulls checked at the CSU Diagnostic Lab at Rocky Ford and the Rocky Mountain Regional Animal Health Lab, 171 bulls of Colorado origin were positive.  The majority of these sampled bulls were from Colorado, however, 53 positive bulls from 4688 total bulls were from surrounding states.  In Feb. 2008, five new premises in SE Colorado have had Trichomoniasis diagnosed in their herds.  In addition, other states (Nebraska, New Mexico, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Montana, Wyoming, Kansas, and Utah) have detected herd infections and issued new reporting and regulatory actions to control the spread of this disease.  Since 2001, the Colorado Dept. of Agriculture has applied stringent regulatory requirements for testing and reporting of cattle, primarily bulls, to prevent the transmission of Trichomoniasis.  This transmissible, venereal disease of cattle causes herd infertility, embryonic deaths, abortions, failure of or delayed conceptions and significant economic losses to both beef and dairy cattle.  A brochure detailing the disease and control methods is available through the Colorado Department of Agriculture – Animal Industry website (www.RMRAHL.org) and further information is available at the Colorado State University beef extension website (www.csubeef.com).  Cattle producers should be monitoring their herds for infections and practicing stringent biosecurity practices to prevent the introduction of this reproductive disease into their breeding herds.  CSU extension livestock specialists or local veterinarians may be contacted for assistance, as well as the CSU Integrated Livestock Management section of the College of Veterinary Medicine and the CSU Extension Veterinarian.