Effects of season, herd size, management system and veterinary practice on the lameness incidence in dairy cattle

Abstract

The incidence of lameness in herds visited by veterinary practitioners in winter (0.87 cases per 100 cows per month) was greater than in summer (0.71 cases per 100 cows per month). The relative proportions of leg lesions and underrun heel were higher, and those of foul-in-the-foot, interdigital hyperplasia and foreign body in the sole were lower in winter than in summer. In winter, leg lesions and aseptic laminitis were most common in cows housed in cowsheds, white line abscess in cows in strawyards and sole ulcer in cows in either cowsheds or cubicles with concrete yards. The overall incidence of lesions was lower in strawyard accommodation (0.71 cases per 100 cows per month) than in cubicles with yards (0.93 cases per 100 cows per month). Veterinary practitioners saw proportionally fewer cases of foul-in-the-foot but proportionally more cases of sole ulcer in larger than in smaller herds. The animal incidence of lameness ranged from 1.7 to 11.4 per cent among practices; in 20 practices which recorded a total of at least 100 lesions in both summer and winter there was a large variation in the proportions observed of each lesion. A principal component analysis contrasted those practices which tended to see mainly cases of white line abscess, white line separation, foul-in-the-foot and leg lesions with those which saw mainly cases of underrun heel, interdigital hyperplasia, punctured sole with pus and sole ulcer. Twenty-nine per cent of cases of underrun heel and 22 per cent of cases of both deep sepsis and interdigital hyperplasia occurred in conjunction with another lesion.

Breed and Season Effects on the Claw Lesions of Dairy Cows in Ardebil, Iran

“…Field studies performed showed that the majority of lameness occurs in the rainy season [6][7][8][9][10]12] and that high incidence of lameness usually follows periods of heavy rain [11]. This is in contrast to our findings that have shown a higher proportion of each common lesion occurred in the summer than winter.…”

“…It is interesting that cows housed winter in cowsheds or cubicles with concrete yards remained susceptible to this condition in the summer, whereas cows which were at pasture for most of the year were virtually free of the disease [7]. Murray et al (1996) reported that over 60% of cases of WLD and SU occurred during the winter (November to April) [15]; in contrast, only 24.1% and 12.1% of abattoir reports occurred during this period.…”

“…There is evidence of a direct correlation between the amount of rainfall and incidence of lameness in dairy cattle [6][7][8][9][10][11][12]. In Denmark, lameness prevalence increased after periods of high rainfall [13] but Whitaker et al (2004) found no such relationship in UK dairy cattle [14].…”

Clinical and epidemiological aspects of bovine digital lesions in southern Brazil

“…Subclinical lesions, as sole haemorrhages and varying degrees of heel erosions, and interdigital hyperplasia not associated with lameness were not recorded. The higher distribution of lesions of the rear feet, and of hind lateral claws observed in the present study are findings consistent with earlier surveys (Eddy & Scott, 1980;Russell et al, 1982;Clarkson et al, 1996). The high occurrence of digital and interdigital dermatitis detected in this investigation is probably associated with the poor hygiene conditions observed, but the possibility of the introduction of digital dermatitis into the herds by the purchase of heifers can not be dismissed (Rowlands et al, 1983;Williams et al, 1986;Rodriguez-Lainz et al, 1996;Read & Walker, 1998;Molina et al, 1999).…”

“…The distribution of claw lesions has been approximately 85% higher in the lateral rear claws, where higher loads are supported due to its biomechanic properties (Toussaint Raven, 1985). The principal foot lesions recorded are heel horn erosion (8.7-88%), sole hemorrhage (28-48%), white line diseases (15.6-45%), digital dermatitis (26-29%), sole gap and abscess (10.4-28%), interdigital necrobacillosis (14.3-16.7%), sole ulcer (9-13.6%) and interdigital hyperplasia (1-7%) (Eddy & Scott, 1980;Russell et al, 1982;Clarkson et al, 1996;Bergsten et al, 1998). Recent Brazilian investigation revealed 30.3% of affected lactating dairy cows in the region of Belo Horizonte, being horn erosion (48.5%), interdigital dermatitis (13.5%) and interdigital necrobacillosis (9.6%) the most frequent lesions (Molina et al, 1999).…”