Digital dermatitis

a description of lesion progression and regression of natural disease in Holstein dairy cattle over two years

Abstract

Digital dermatitis is an economically important infectious cause of lameness in dairy cattle as well as beef feedlot cattle. Despite 35 years of research, the etiology and pathogenesis of digital dermatitis has yet to be fully described. The majority of research into the etiology of digital dermatitis has focused on identification of cattle with classic lesions, either during routine foot trims or at slaughterhouses. Unfortunately, this method of monitoring lacks the ability to further classify lesions as acute versus chronic, or incorporate treatment history. A proposed lesion scoring system was developed by Dopfer et al to further attempt to classify lesions as acute or chronic. The present study has built on that method by providing further description of lesion development, and identification of changes to the skin of the foot that were consistently recognized weeks to months prior to lesion development and lameness.