Olde Riekerink R G M, van Amersfort K, Sampimon O C, Hooijer G A, Lam T J G M
GD Animal Health Services, PO Box 9, 7400AA Deventer, the Netherlands; Bayer New Zealand Ltd., PO Box 2825, Auckland 1140, New Zealand.
GD Animal Health Services, PO Box 9, 7400AA Deventer, the Netherlands; Department of Farm Animal Health, Institute of Ruminant Health Care, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Utrecht University, Yalelaan 7, 3584CL Utrecht, the Netherlands.
J Dairy Sci. 2014;97(8):5007-11. doi: 10.3168/jds.2013-7651. Epub 2014 May 23.
Udder cleft dermatitis (UCD) is a well-known disorder in dairy cows. Veterinary literature about this subject, however, is scarce. The objectives of this study were to define a clinical scoring system for UCD, estimate the within-herd prevalence of UCD, and identify potential risk factors of UCD at cow and herd level. On 20 randomly selected dairy farms in the Netherlands, each lactating cow was photographed from a ventral, lateral, and caudal position. A scoring system with 6 categories of severity of UCD was proposed based on the ventral photographs. Cow measures such as udder width and depth, and front quarter attachment were determined from the lateral and caudal photographs. A questionnaire was conducted on each farm during farm visits. Udder cleft dermatitis, defined as a score 3 or higher, was detected in 5.2% of the 948 cows involved in this study. Within-herd prevalences of UCD ranged between 0 and 15% and UCD was found in 16 (80%) of the participating farms. Cows with a deep udder (relative to the hock), large front quarters, and a small angle between udder and abdominal wall were more likely to develop UCD. Production level and use of a footbath were identified as being positively associated with herd-level UCD prevalence. Herd size and average bulk milk somatic cell count did not seem to be associated with UCD prevalence. Because of the small herd sample size, no firm conclusions were drawn on herd-level risk factors. However, results from this study can be used in designing a future longitudinal UCD study. The prevalences of UCD found in the present study illustrate the current UCD situation in the Netherlands. Our results demonstrate that multiple potential risk factors of UCD could be identified at both the cow and herd level.
乳房裂皮炎（UCD）是奶牛中一种广为人知的疾病。然而，关于这个主题的兽医文献却很稀少。本研究的目的是定义一种UCD临床评分系统，估计UCD在牛群中的患病率，并确定奶牛和牛群水平上UCD的潜在风险因素。在荷兰随机选取的20个奶牛场中，从腹侧、外侧和尾侧对每头泌乳奶牛进行拍照。基于腹侧照片提出了一个有6个UCD严重程度类别的评分系统。从外侧和尾侧照片中确定奶牛的乳房宽度和深度以及前乳房附着等测量值。在农场访问期间对每个农场进行了问卷调查。在本研究涉及的948头奶牛中，有5.2%被检测出患有乳房裂皮炎（定义为评分3或更高）。UCD在牛群中的患病率在0%至15%之间，在16个（80%）参与的农场中发现了UCD。乳房较深（相对于跗关节）、前乳房较大且乳房与腹壁之间夹角较小的奶牛更易患UCD。生产水平和使用足浴被确定与牛群水平的UCD患病率呈正相关。牛群规模和平均原料奶体细胞计数似乎与UCD患病率无关。由于牛群样本量较小，未就牛群水平的风险因素得出确凿结论。然而，本研究结果可用于设计未来关于UCD的纵向研究。本研究中发现的UCD患病率说明了荷兰目前的UCD情况。我们的结果表明，在奶牛和牛群水平上都可以识别出UCD的多个潜在风险因素。
