Bailey Awarded Funding for Equine Reproductive Disease Research
A study on a new treatment for a leading cause of equine reproductive loss led by the NC State College of Veterinary Medicine’s Scott Bailey is one of just a handful of projects receiving the latest funding from the Grayson-Jockey Club Research Foundation.
Bailey, CVM associate professor of theriogenology, the veterinary branch focused on reproductive medicine, is heading one of the eight new research studies nationwide receiving support from the organization this year.
The one-year grant will support Bailey’s exploration of the best antibiotic approaches to treat pregnant mares with ascending placentitis, a bacterial infection of the placenta, and to improve foal survival.
Ascending placentitis, which often occurs late in a pregnancy, can lead to premature birth or fetal death, and affected mares often have later difficulty conceiving. Traditional antibiotic treatment for the disease frequently fails to clear bacteria from the uterus and the fetal membranes.
Bailey’s research has shown that formulations of the antibiotics penicillin and gentamicin effectively eliminate bacterial growth in uterine fluid, according to his project proposal. Bailey’s study will discover whether adding a single trans-cervical treatment to the antibiotic formulations will help foal health and survival rates.
Bailey, board certified by the American College of Theriogenologists, is one of the leaders of the NC State Veterinary Hospital’s equine reproduction service. His research focuses on causes of foal mortality and diseases related to equine pregnancy.
With this year’s research grants, the Grayson-Jockey Club Research Foundation has awarded more than $27.5 million to research projects since 1983. Last year, the organization presented CVM graduate student Jessica Gilbertie with the Elaine and Bertram Klein Career Development Award in recognition of her research into platelet lysate therapy for infectious equine arthritis.
