Abstract
The efficacy of salicylic acid paste (SA) in the treatment of ulcerative bovine digital dermatitis (BDD) was assessed by combining clinical and histopathological analyses with molecular biological techniques. The latter were conducted in a blinded manner to reach maximum objectivity. Prior to treatment, M2-stage BDD lesions (n = 26, diagnosed in 21 dairy cows) exhibited ulceration, with severe perivascular, chronic, lymphoplasmacytic dermatitis and extensive keratinolysis being noted in most cases. Pretreatment biopsy samples (n = 12) followed by povidone-iodine ointment under bandage for one week before administration of SA paste were tested positive for Treponema spp. by blinded PCR and fluorescent in situ hybridization (FISH). Subsequent treatment consisted of application of SA and bandaging at weekly intervals until lesions had completely resolved. The treatment duration ranged between 2 and 4 weeks. Complete healing was achieved in 100% of cases, with 2/21 animals requiring a second round of treatment upon disease reoccurrence. Importantly, only 3/26 biopsies taken from previously affected sites still tested positive by Treponema PCR, and in another biopsy, the outermost layers of the stratum corneum scored weakly positive by Treponema-specific FISH. None of these Treponema DNA-positive biopsies showed signs of ulceration. One case exhibited focal keratinolysis. Positive PCR or FISH in these cases may have arisen from DNA traces of dead bacteria or environmental contamination during biopsy harvesting. To our knowledge, this is the first study on blinded molecular biological monitoring of the therapeutic efficacy of SA with respect to treponemal infection, and on complete BDD M2-stage remission in all animals achieved by SA treatment according to an optimized protocol. Although the etiology of BDD is considered as multifactorial, our data further support the concept that treponemes have a decisive role in BDD pathogenesis.
Funder
Streuli Tiergesundheit AG
Heard Health Management Initiator Grant, Institute of Animal Pathology and Clinic for Ruminants
Publisher
Public Library of Science (PLoS)
Reference60 articles.
1. Cheli R, Mortellaro C. La dermatite digitale del bovino. Proceedings of the 8th International Conference on Diseases of Cattle. 1974:208–13.
2. Assessing economic consequences of foot disorders in dairy cattle using a dynamic stochastic simulation model;MR Bruijnis;J Dairy Sci,2010
3. Modelling the economic impact of three lameness causing diseases using herd and cow level evidence;J Ettema;Prev Vet Med,2010
4. Papillomatous digital dermatitis: treatment and control stategies—Part II;JK Shearer;Compend Contin Educ Pract Vet,1998
5. Prevalence and distribution of foot lesions in dairy cattle in Alberta, Canada;L Solano;J Dairy Sci,2016
Cited by
4 articles.
订阅此论文施引文献
订阅此论文施引文献,注册后可以免费订阅5篇论文的施引文献,订阅后可以查看论文全部施引文献