Evaluation of a therapy protocol for the treatment of chronic digital dermatitis in European bison (Bison bonasus)

Digital dermatitis (DD) associated with the presence of multiple Treponema spp. was recently described for the first time in European bison (Bison bonasus). DD is characterized by skin inflammation in the distal foot area in various ungulates. The objective of this proof of concept study was to test a treatment protocol adopted from cattle for its applicability in this wildlife species using five animals. Keratolytic salicylic acid paste was administered topically under bandages for seven days to enable removal of the

[First case description of contagious ovine digital dermatitis in Switzerland].

Contagious ovine digital dermatitis (CODD) is an emerging infectious foot disease in sheep. To date, CODD has been described in Great Britain, Ireland, Sweden and Germany and now in Switzerland for the first time. Unlike foot rot, the CODD lesions do not spread from the interdigital space, but usually begin at the dorsal/abaxial coronary band. The changes can spread to the hoof wall and the sole and finally can lead to exungulation, similar to foot rot. Treponema spp. are often found in CODD lesions analogous to digital dermatitis (Mortellaro's disease) in cattle. Involvement of Dichelobacter nodosus (D. nodosus) is considered a risk factor, but the presence of the bacterium is not mandatory. In February 2022, ulcerative lesions in the dorso-axial coronary band area were noticed on both claws of the left forelimb in an ewe. Histology of the biopsy showed hyperkeratosis and erosion with exocytosis and crust formation. Treponema spp. PCR and fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) were positive for Treponema phylotype 1 (PT1). In addition, D. nodosus and Porphyromonas levii could be detected in the biopsy using PCR. A single local application of chlortetracycline spray led to clinical healing within two weeks, no recurrence was seen within the following two months. Three control sheep, which were kept together with the diseased sheep, did not show any clinical signs of CODD. Treponema spp could not be found in interdigital and coronary band biopsies by PCR or FISH. This is the first description of CODD in Switzerland and aims to sensitize veterinarians to CODD as a differential diagnosis for foot diseases in sheep

[Risk factors for infectious foot disorders on two Swiss cattle mountain pastures].

In the present study, risk groups for infectious foot disorders were identified on two large Swiss cattle mountain pastures by analyzing animal and treatment data of a total of 3256 animals of the bovine species. Both mountain pastures were part of the Federal Office for Agriculture (FOAG) consultancy project «Healthy animals, attractive herdsmen positions and less medication on large cattle mountain pastures». The project was launched in 2020 following the increased incidence of lameness on these mountain pastures. Bacteriological and histological analyses were to provide information as to whether the most common foot disorder was interdigital phlegmon (IP) or whether digital dermatitis also occurred. Further, the temporal distribution of cases over the mountain pasture season and the influence of mountain pasture and year were investigated and interpreted for the project years 2020 to 2022, and treatment incidences were compared between years. Multiple treatment cycles in the same individual were classified into persistent infections and new infections. Nineteen of 394 first-treated cattle were clinically examined, 12 of them were additionally sampled for bacteriological and histological analyses. All cases examined showed, both clinically and following laboratory analyses, typical characteristics for IP. In contrast, there was no specific evidence for the presence of digital dermatitis. No persistent infections occurred during treatment with benzylpenicillin. Multivariate logistic regression analyses identified > 365-730-day-old cattle (odds ratio OR 8,29), as well as inseminated (OR 5,30) and non-inseminated (OR 7,85) heifers as risk groups for the disease studied (p < 0,05). Association with the oestrus activity of non-inseminated heifers and a generally higher locomotor activity in heifers compared to cows - with a correspondingly increased risk of injury - is conceivable. Meat breeds had a reduced risk compared to dairy breeds (OR 0,29). Breed differences in behavior and/or the effectiveness of the local immune response might have an impact. Knowing about these risk groups can be put to use in the future when selecting animals to be taken to the mountain pastures and/or when planning pasture management in order to reduce the prevalence of infectious foot disorders and thereby the use of antibiotics

Sensor data classification for the indication of lameness in sheep

Lameness is a vital welfare issue in most sheep farming countries, including the UK. The pre-detection at the farm level could prevent the disease from becoming chronic. The development of wearable sensor technologies enables the idea of remotely monitoring the changes in animal movements which relate to lameness. In this study, 3D-acceleration, 3D-orientation, and 3D-linear acceleration sensor data were recorded at ten samples per second via the sensor attached to sheep neck collar. This research aimed to determine the best accuracy among various supervised machine learning techniques which can predict the early signs of lameness while the sheep are walking on a flat field. The most influencing predictors for lameness indication were also addressed here. The experimental results revealed that the Decision Tree classifier has the highest accuracy of 75.46%, and the orientation sensor data (angles) around the neck are the strongest predictors to differentiate among severely lame, mildly lame and sound classes of sheep

Sensor data classification for the indication of lameness in sheep

Lameness is a vital welfare issue in most sheep farming countries, including the UK. The pre-detection at the farm level could prevent the disease from becoming chronic. The development of wearable sensor technologies enables the idea of remotely monitoring the changes in animal movements which relate to lameness. In this study, 3D-acceleration, 3D-orientation, and 3D-linear acceleration sensor data were recorded at ten samples per second via the sensor attached to sheep neck collar. This research aimed to determine the best accuracy among various supervised machine learning techniques which can predict the early signs of lameness while the sheep are walking on a flat field. The most influencing predictors for lameness indication were also addressed here. The experimental results revealed that the Decision Tree classifier has the highest accuracy of 75.46%, and the orientation sensor data (angles) around the neck are the strongest predictors to differentiate among severely lame, mildly lame and sound classes of sheep

Assessment of foot health and animal welfare: clinical findings in 229 dairy Mediterranean Buffaloes (Bubalus bubalis) affected by foot disorders.

BACKGROUND Lameness represents the third most important health-related cause of economic loss in the dairy industry after fertility and mastitis. Although, dairy Mediterranean Buffaloes (MB) and dairy cows share similar breeding systems predisposing to similar herd problems, published studies exploring its relevance and role in these ruminants are still rare and incomplete. The aims of this study were to describe the clinical findings of foot disorders (FDs) in dairy MB and their influence on animal welfare, determined by assessment of locomotion score (LS), body condition score (BCS) and cleanliness score (CS). RESULTS Of 1297 multiparous MB submitted to routine trimming procedures, 229 buffaloes showed at least one FD. The prevalence of buffaloes affected by FDs was 17.7 %, while motility and lameness indexes were 84.1 % (1091/1297) and 15.9 % (206/1297), respectively. Overgrowth was present in 17.0 % (220/1297), corkscrew claw in 15.8 % (205/1297), interdigital phlegmon in 0.9 % (12/1297), white line abscess in 0.8 % (11/1297), digital dermatitis in 0.1 % (1/1297) and interdigital hyperplasia in 0.1 % (1/1297). Simultaneous presence of FDs was recorded in 17.0 % of MB (221/1297): overgrowth and corkscrew claw occurred together in 15.8 % of cases (205/1297), overgrowth and interdigital phlegmon in 0.3 % (4/1297), overgrowth and white line abscess in 0.8 % (11/1297), digital dermatitis and interdigital hyperplasia in 0.1 % (1/1297). The presence of FDs was always associated with lameness (LS > 2), except from 23 MB with simultaneous overgrowth and interdigital phlegmon occurrence. The majority of MB within the under-conditioned group (95.5 %, 43/45) and all those with CS > 2 (122/122) had a locomotion score above the threshold of normality (LS > 2). Furthermore, foot diseases such as interdigital hyperplasia, white line abscess and digital dermatitis or interdigital hyperplasia seemed to occur more frequently associated with decreased BCS and increased CS scores. CONCLUSIONS This study describes for the first time the involvement of white line disease, interdigital phlegmona, digital dermatitis and interdigital hyperplasia in foot disorders of dairy Mediterranean buffalo and shows their association with an impairment of animal welfare

Use of Extended Characteristics of Locomotion and Feeding Behavior for Automated Identification of Lame Dairy Cows.

This study was carried out to detect differences in locomotion and feeding behavior in lame (group L; n = 41; gait score ≥ 2.5) and non-lame (group C; n = 12; gait score ≤ 2) multiparous Holstein cows in a cross-sectional study design. A model for automatic lameness detection was created, using data from accelerometers attached to the hind limbs and noseband sensors attached to the head. Each cow's gait was videotaped and scored on a 5-point scale before and after a period of 3 consecutive days of behavioral data recording. The mean value of 3 independent experienced observers was taken as a definite gait score and considered to be the gold standard. For statistical analysis, data from the noseband sensor and one of two accelerometers per cow (randomly selected) of 2 out of 3 randomly selected days was used. For comparison between group L and group C, the T-test, the Aspin-Welch Test and the Wilcoxon Test were used. The sensitivity and specificity for lameness detection was determined with logistic regression and ROC-analysis. Group L compared to group C had significantly lower eating and ruminating time, fewer eating chews, ruminating chews and ruminating boluses, longer lying time and lying bout duration, lower standing time, fewer standing and walking bouts, fewer, slower and shorter strides and a lower walking speed. The model considering the number of standing bouts and walking speed was the best predictor of cows being lame with a sensitivity of 90.2% and specificity of 91.7%. Sensitivity and specificity of the lameness detection model were considered to be very high, even without the use of halter data. It was concluded that under the conditions of the study farm, accelerometer data were suitable for accurately distinguishing between lame and non-lame dairy cows, even in cases of slight lameness with a gait score of 2.5