Assessing the risks of transmitting OJD in the semen of rams by artificial insemination.

Abstract

The impact on stud breeders of the current national program to limit the spread of OJD within the Australian sheep industry could be reduced if they could safely use semen from within their studs. Trading semen would be a means of maintaining some cash flow, and artificial insemination could be used to re-establish the studs’ genotype within any destocking program. This research has shown for the first time that semen collected from rams clinically infected with OJD can contain M Ptb, the bacteria that causes OJD, and that it is likely that bacteria could be transferred to the reproductive tract of ewes at mating or AI. These results indicate that quality assurance guidelines for the safe use of semen from infected flocks need to be developed further.