Preliminary results point to high prevalence of Digital Dermatitis and Claw Horn Disruption
As of November 30, 2012, 578 herds in 3 provinces had contributed trim records and DHI data to The Alberta Dairy Hoof Health Project's hoof health database, providing trim records for 80,533 individual cows. In Alberta, 50.9% of these cows had one or more of the 14 claw lesions being evaluated by hoof trimmers. In BC, 59.8% of cows trimmed had one or more lesions while, in Ontario, only 38.1% had lesions.
Alberta | British Columbia | Ontario | ||||
Participating Farms | 158 | 85 | 335 | |||
Total Distinct Cows | 40,558 | 15,930 | 24,045 | |||
...with Lesions | 20,644 | 50.8% | 9,523 | 59.8% | 9,156 | 38.1% |
Lesions: | ||||||
Digital Dermatitis | 13,241 | 43.2% | 5,464 | 37.9% | 4,488 | 34.8% |
Sole Ulcer | 5,284 | 17.2% | 2,149 | 14.9% | 1,684 | 13.1% |
White Line Lesion | 4,760 | 15.5% | 2,053 | 14.3% | 1,106 | 8.6% |
Sole Hemorrhage | 1,964 | 6.4% | 1,026 | 7.1% | 2,894 | 22.4% |
Toe Ulcer | 1,504 | 4.9% | 763 | 5.3% | 213 | 1.7% |
Interdigital Hyperplasia | 1,141 | 3.7% | 444 | 3.1% | 968 | 7.5% |
Thin Sole | 728 | 2.4% | 306 | 2.1% | 128 | 1.0% |
Foot Rot | 733 | 2.4% | 262 | 1.8% | 133 | 1.0% |
Heel Erosion | 199 | 0.6% | 91 | 0.6% | 280 | 2.2% |
Corkscrew Claw | 403 | 1.3% | 45 | 0.3% | 155 | 1.2% |
Interdigital Dermatitis | 178 | 0.6% | 1,612 | 11.2% | 769 | 6.0% |
Axial Fissure | 270 | 0.9% | 107 | 0.7% | 40 | 0.3% |
Vertical Fissure | 204 | 0.7% | 21 | 0.1% | 30 | 0.2% |
Horizontal Fissure | 48 | 0.2% | 62 | 0.4% | 10 | 0.1% |
Total Lesions | 30,657 | 100% | 14,405 | 100% | 12,898 | 100.0% |
Digital Dermatitis (DD) is by far the most common lesion among the cows examined, accounting for 40.0% of all lesions recorded. DD, commonly called 'hairy heel warts', 'Mortellaro's disease' or 'strawberry foot rot' is a contagious infection caused by bacteria that thrive in moist, low-oxygen (anaerobic) environments such as manure and wet, contaminated bedding.
Next in order of prevalence are 4 lesions related to 'claw horn disruption' (CRD): sole ulcer, white line lesion, sole hemorrhage and toe ulcer. Together these four lesions account for 43.8% of all lesions recorded to date. Traditionally, these lesions were thought to result from feeding high-energy diets, leading to ruminal acidosis and laminitis - inflammation of the small blood vessels in the claw-forming tissue of the hoof. More recent research evidence suggests that events around calving may cause structural changes in tissues that suspend the pedal bone inside the hoof or in the digital fat pad than provides a cushion under the bone.
30 November 2021