Prevalence of mortellaro disease in cows, taking into account lactation (treatment and prevention)

Abstract

Digital dermatitis, Mortellaro's disease, is one of the most common diseases of the hooves of cattle on farms, which can lead to significant economic losses. Digital dermatitis is considered a polybacterial disease in which the microbiome composition changes as the different stages of the disease progress. According to the literature, bacteria such as treponemas, mycoplasmas, porphyromonas and/or fusobacteria may play a key role in the pathogenesis of digital dermatitis. Cattle digital dermatitis has a staging ranging from minor ulcerations to hyper- and dyskeratic proliferation of the papillary layer of the skin base. The foci are localized on the palmar or plantar surface of the fingers and hooves, between the fingers, along the perimeter of the corolla, under the rudimentary fingers and above the horn capsule. The article evaluates the frequency of its occurrence, the impact on the productivity of dairy cows and compares the effectiveness of the treatment of Mortellaro's disease with the use of beech tar and Terramycin spray. In the studied livestock, digital dermatitis was detected in 1.5% of animals. Most often, digital dermatitis of various stages was identified in cows of II, III, IV and more lactation. A decrease in the average daily milk yield in cows with Mortellaro disease was determined - 21.78 kg of milk, while the average value for the household is 24 kg. Also, the insemination of 14 cows out of 18 sick animals after the first insemination 42.9% were barren. In 90% of the animals, the pelvic limbs were affected, pathological foci were localized in the heel area in 74% of cases, in the interhoof arch in 23%, and in the corolla in 3%. In 78% of the animals one limb was affected. Surgical removal of the affected tissues, the use of a bandage with beech tar reduced the treatment time by 5-7 days compared with the use of Terramycin spray.