A review of most important causes of abortion in cattle and their methods of diagnosis

At the time of abortion in the herd, complete investigations should be undertaken promptly to identify and eliminate the causative agents. For this purpose, it is necessary to consider the following: Aborted cows and aborted fetus should be carefully examined and the results of observations must be recorded in a special sheet. Then, a complete history of the condition, nutrition, vaccination history, time of illness in the herd and the arrival of new cattle to the herd should be provided. The aborted fetuses must to be sent to the laboratory with the appropriate plates without delay and at the appropriate conditions, together with the provided information. In order to identify infectious, toxic, hormonal and mineral deficiencies that affecting the abortion, it is necessary to take samples and send them to the laboratory. Abortion is part of the complex and important cause of fetal mortality, and determining its specific factors in cows is usually difficult and often ambiguous. The success rate of detecting abortion factors was reported to be 40% in the best conditions, with an average of 5 to 10%. Therefore, a scientifically accurate method is highly needed to identify these factors.