Ovine footrot: A review of current knowledge

Zanolari, Patrik; Dürr, Salome; Jores, Jörg; Steiner, Adrian; Kuhnert, Peter (2021). Ovine footrot: A review of current knowledge. Veterinary journal, 271, p. 105647. Elsevier 10.1016/j.tvjl.2021.105647

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Footrot is a contagious foot disease mainly affecting sheep. It is caused by the Gram-negative anaerobic bacterium Dichelobacter nodosus. Warm, wet environmental conditions favour development of footrot, and under perfect conditions, it takes just 2–3 weeks from infection to manifestation of clinical signs. Affected sheep show lameness of various degrees and often graze while resting on their carpi. Local clinical signs vary in severity and extent from interdigital inflammation (benign footrot) to underrunning of the complete horn shoe in advanced stages of virulent footrot. Laboratory diagnosis ideally involves collection of four-foot interdigital swab samples followed by competitive real time PCR, allowing for detection of the presence of D. nodosus and differentiation between benign and virulent strains. Laboratory-based diagnostics at the flock level based on risk-based sampling and pooling of interdigital swab samples are recommended. The list of treatment options of individual sheep includes careful removal of the loose undermined horn, local or systemic administration of antimicrobials, systemic administration of non-steroidal anti-inflammatories (NSAIDs) and disinfectant footbathing. Strategies for control at the flock level are manifold and depend on the environmental conditions and the procedures traditionally implemented by the respective country. Generally, measures consist of treatment/culling of infected sheep, vaccination and prevention of reinfection of disease-free flocks. Gaining deeper insight into the beneficial effects of NSAIDs, screening for eco-friendly footbath solutions, developing better vaccines, including the development of a robust, reproducible infection model and elucidation of protective immune responses, as well as the elaboration of effective awareness training programs for sheep farmers, are relevant research gaps.

Item Type:

Journal Article (Review Article)

Division/Institute:

05 Veterinary Medicine > Department of Clinical Veterinary Medicine (DKV)
05 Veterinary Medicine > Department of Clinical Veterinary Medicine (DKV) > Clinic for Ruminants
05 Veterinary Medicine > Department of Clinical Research and Veterinary Public Health (DCR-VPH) > Veterinary Public Health Institute
05 Veterinary Medicine > Department of Infectious Diseases and Pathobiology (DIP)
05 Veterinary Medicine > Department of Clinical Research and Veterinary Public Health (DCR-VPH)
05 Veterinary Medicine > Department of Infectious Diseases and Pathobiology (DIP) > Institute of Veterinary Bacteriology

UniBE Contributor:

Zanolari, Patrik, Dürr, Salome Esther, Jores, Jörg, Steiner, Adrian, Kuhnert, Peter

Subjects:

600 Technology > 630 Agriculture
500 Science > 590 Animals (Zoology)
600 Technology > 610 Medicine & health

ISSN:

1090-0233

Publisher:

Elsevier

Language:

English

Submitter:

Nathalie Viviane Zollinger

Date Deposited:

25 Mar 2021 10:23

Last Modified:

05 Dec 2022 15:48

Publisher DOI:

10.1016/j.tvjl.2021.105647

PubMed ID:

33840488

BORIS DOI:

10.48350/152913

URI:

https://boris.unibe.ch/id/eprint/152913

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