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WORKING
ToGEThER
FOR A HEALTHIER FUTURE...
7
LIVESTOCK MATTERS
Footbathing tips to help keep
digital dermatitis under control
Once digital dermatitis is present in a herd, then it will never go away.
Active cases will require individual attention, and once the lesions have
healed, then regular footbathing is the only way to keep it under control.
Here, Synergy FarmHealth’s Jon Reader gives some advice on
controlling the disease and maximising the effectiveness of the
footbathing operation.
Disease detail
‘Digital dermatitis is caused by a type of
bacterium known as
Trepinenes
, which lives in
the lesions of the foot,‘ explains Jon.
‘On dairy farms, it is spread in slurry. So
infection levels and lameness can to some
extent be limited by minimising the time cows
spend with their feet in slurry. For example, it
may prove beneficial to increase the frequency
of scraping the yards.
‘Where cows are turned out to grass in the
summer, it may seem to have disappeared.
But it hasn’t. It will be deep in the tissues and
once housed, clinical cases will start to be
seen again.
‘The infection causes lesions which are
classified according to their stage of
development. The key ones are: M2 - red
raw active lesions which need individual
treatment
(see Figure one)
, and M4 - healed
up lesions.
‘M2 stage lesions will require individual
attention: an antibiotic spray, specifically
prescribed for the purpose, will need to be
applied for three days. Alternatively topical
treatments such as copper-based pastes can
be used.
‘There is some debate as to the merits of
bandaging feet, once treated. This can be
useful for the first few days to give the active
ingredient in the product used, time to work,
but bandages should not be left on for weeks.
‘The aim is to get your herd’s feet to an M4
stage, and keep them there.
‘For this, footbathing is needed: regularly, all
year round, effectively, and for the whole
herd - not forgetting dry cows and heifers.
Ideally, it should be done every day or at least
five days through the week.
‘And to maximise success, footbathing needs to
be made as easy as possible for farm staff, so
it becomes a routine.
D IGI TAL DERMAT I T I S
Veterinary surgeon
Jon Reader
XLVets practice
Synergy Farm Health
Jon Reader, BVSc DCHP MRCVS,
Synergy Farm Health
Figure one. An M2 acute lesion - active infection requiring individual treatment