On farm evaluation of group treatment of digital dermatitis in dairy cows.

The aim of this blind and longitudinal farm study was to evaluate the efficacy of Provita Hoofsure Endurance (PHE) foot wash solutions in reducing the prevalence of lameness due to digital dermatitis (DD) in dairy cows. Cows (n = 182) from three commercial dairy herds of closed type were diagnosed by lameness and pain scoring, with lesions consistent with DD in different stage of development. On the basis of locomotion scoring system (1-5), the prevalence of lameness was between 28.8 % and 43.6%. Cows were considered for individual evaluation based on significant Kappa-value and restrained in a chute for lesion type (0-4), color (0-2) and size (0-2) scoring prior to application of PHE and at the end of trial in walkthrough footbaths or group topical spray in milking parlor. Cows were allocated to one of two groups: cows in group 1 were treated with PHE 2.0 % twice a day for 3 consecutive days in footbath, and treatment repeated again after 2 weeks with PHE 1.0 % twice a day for 3 consecutive days. In group 2, 2.0 % solution was sprayed on the palmar surface of the feet. Changes in each score between initial and final scoring were calculated and the comparison was made statistically using non-parametric U-test with 0.05 level of significance. From the results of this farm study, it is concluded that the application of PHE alleviates lameness significantly at the herd- or the cow-level as part of a control program of DD.