Click to go to Rocks Blocks Click to return to Hoof Trimmers Page

RETURN TO "DIGITAL DERMATITIS" PAGE

THE LATEST CURE?

As of February of the year 2001, there is no cure for Digital Dermatitis (Heel Wart). As a hoof trimmer this is one of the biggest problems I see at the dairies I routinely trim.  While there is no cure, there are however, several ways to manage and control the problem, some better than others.  Because I am a hoof trimmer and not a veterinarian, I can not recommend treatment methods, but I can summarize what "most" of my successful customers are doing to control hoof warts.  As with everything else, what works the best now may not be what works best six months from now, and what works well for one dairy may not work at another dairy!

bullet

 Footbath:  1/2 pound of copper sulfate to a gallon of water and Using footbath daily, four to five days per week minimum.  Occasionally up to one pound per gallon is used if control is not adequate.

bullet

Hoof wrap application:   Soaking a cotton or paper towel with Tetracycline (Agrimycin 100, LA 100 or similar), applying to lesion and bandaging the hoof.  

bullet

Topical spray in the parlor or tie stall: Using  Agrimycin 100, LA 100 or similar product in a spray bottle and applying directly to lesion.  

CAUTION! Always consult with a veterinarian before using any drug that may involve extra label use.   Remember  that there are many other methods for controlling Heel Wart that may be just as effective depending on different methods of management and different environmental conditions.

 

Digital Dermatitis

an excerpt from:  

Sole Ulcers, White Line Disease, and Infectious Claw disorders:  Primary Causes of Lameness in dairy Cattle

By Dr. Jan Shearer DVM, MS University of Florida

digital dermatitis was first described in 1974 by Drs. cheli and Mortellaro from Italy.  In the United States the condition is known by a variety of different terms including: hairy heel warts, digital warts, strawberry foot, raspberry heel, verrucous dermatitis, Mortellaro or Mortellaro's disease, Papillomatous digital dermatitis, and digital dermatitis.   Regardless of the terminology applied to this condition, it is recognized worldwide as a frustrating, if not serious, health problem.  Most perplexing in recent years has been the dramatic increase in incidence of this disease.  Even more troubling, is the fact that the precise cause 9 or causes) and factors which predispose to its occurrence in herds, are largely unclear.

Recent survey data from California cited the following as risk factors for digital dermatitis: 1) large herds, @) herds with predominately Holsteins, 3) herds with corral housing in winter (muddy conditions prevail at this time), and 4) herds with footbaths.  Others have theorized that wet muddy conditions favored the propagation of this disease in herds, however until this survey there was little to substantiate this view.  more obvious has been the observation of a higher incidence of digital dermatitis amongst herds which purchased cattle or had heifers and young stock raised off-farm for return at a later date. There remain a few closed herds that have never developed a case of foot warts.  Finally, it's of more than just casual interest that footbaths were recognized as a significant risk factor.  these are particularly difficult as well as costly to manage properly in large herds.

Early approaches to therapy in the United States included surgical excision, footbaths and?or topical treatment with various disinfectants and caustic chemicals, cryosurgery (freezing), and electrocautery (burning).  More recently, topical antibiotic treatment under a bandage has become a popular method to treat individual animals; specifically, topical treatment with cotton balls or gauze soaked in oxytetracyline hydrochloride or in a lincomycin/spectinomycin combination product under a bandage.  Most cows are remarkably improved within 24-48 hours.  bandages can be removed 3 to 5 days following application.

There is surprisingly little controlled data to substantiate the use of footbaths for control of lameness, let alone footwarts.  When used as the sole method of treatment or control, effectiveness varies considerably.  Most report little or no benefit from the use of copper sulfate for treatment of footwarts.  Recent marketing of a pH adjusted copper sulfate product has shown better results but may not be sufficient alone.  Formaldehyde at a 3-5% concentration appears effective for some but not for others.  The use of formaldehyde is further complicated by concerns for worker safety.  Several states have, or are, placing restrictions on the use of formaldehyde in footbaths. 

Tetracycline or oxytetracycline at rates of 1-10 grams/liter of water have been advised and are reported to be effective if managed properly.  Still others prefer to medicate their footbaths with a lincomycin/spectinomycin (LS-50) combination product or lincomycin alone, at the rate of .1-.5 g/liter of water.  A veterinary practitioner from England reports successful control of footwarts with a single monthly passage through a footbath containing 5-6 liter of oxytetracyline (Pfizer) or 150 g LincoSpectin-100 (Upjohn) in 200 liters of water.  The major concern with antibiiotics in footbaths is residues from direct contamination (through spashing) of the udder and teats or from oral ingestion of footbath solutions by cows.

A series of trials conducted in Florida have found topical spray treatment with either oxytetracycline or lincomycin very effective at managing digital dermatitis.  Test of an adjusted copper sulfate formulation (Hoof Pro Plus) as a topical spray was demonstrated to be effective as well although not quite as effective as the antibiotic preparations.  Topical spray treatment has several advantages over the footbath approach:  1) less expensive, 2) higher concentration of drug can be applied directly to the lesion,  3) less potential for neutralization from organic material, and 4) less potential for antibiotic residue from ingestion by the cow.  

 

This article is a reprint from 

ROCHE ANIMAL NUTRITION AND HEALTH 

Dairy Nutrition Technical Workshop

 August 21,1998 

 DANA POINT, CALIFORNIA, USA