Moschovas Marios, Kalogianni Aphrodite I, Simitzis Panagiotis, Pavlatos Georgios, Petrouleas Stavros, Bossis Ioannis, Gelasakis Athanasios I
Laboratory of Anatomy and Physiology of Farm Animals, Department of Animal Science, School of Animal Biosciences, Agricultural University of Athens (AUA), Iera Odos 75 str., 11855 Athens, Greece.
Laboratory of Animal Breeding and Husbandry, Department of Animal Science, School of Animal Biosciences, Agricultural University of Athens (AUA), Iera Odos 75 str., 11855 Athens, Greece.
Animals (Basel). 2021 May 29;11(6):1614. doi: 10.3390/ani11061614.
Foot-related lameness, foot-diseases and lesions are emerging issues in dairy sheep; however, relevant epizootiological studies are scarce, and risk factors have not been elucidated. The objectives of this cross-sectional study were (i) to address this dearth of knowledge by investigating the epizootiology of lameness-related foot-lesions and diseases, and (ii) to assess the impact of potential risk factors on foot health, in intensive dairy sheep farms. Thirty farms were assigned in two representative clusters using a multivariate statistical analysis. Three farms per cluster and 100 multiparous milking ewes per farm (total n = 600) were selected and enrolled in the study. Foot-related lameness, ovine interdigital dermatitis (OID), infectious footrot (IFR), white line disease, hoof wall cracks, as well as health and welfare traits were recorded. Overall prevalence of foot-related lameness was 9.0% and was primarily associated with IFR; however, additional infectious and non-infectious foot diseases and lesions also contributed. Among infectious foot diseases, OID was the most prevalent (21.3%) followed by IFR (8.0%); WLD and hoof wall cracks were the most prevalent non-infectious foot-lesions (37.7% and 15.3%, respectively). IFR and OID prevalence increased with age ( < 0.05) and BCS ( < 0.01), respectively, suggesting that host-related factors and husbandry practices are important determinants of its occurrence.
足部相关跛行、足部疾病和损伤是奶羊中出现的问题；然而，相关的流行病学研究很少，风险因素也尚未阐明。这项横断面研究的目的是：（i）通过调查与跛行相关的足部损伤和疾病的流行病学来解决这一知识空白，（ii）评估集约化奶羊场中潜在风险因素对足部健康的影响。使用多变量统计分析将30个农场分为两个代表性集群。每个集群选择3个农场，每个农场选择100只经产泌乳母羊（总数n = 600）并纳入研究。记录与足部相关的跛行、羊趾间皮炎（OID）、传染性蹄腐病（IFR）、白线病、蹄壁裂缝以及健康和福利特征。与足部相关的跛行总体患病率为9.0%，主要与IFR有关；然而，其他传染性和非传染性足部疾病及损伤也有影响。在传染性足部疾病中，OID最为普遍（21.3%），其次是IFR（8.0%）；白线病和蹄壁裂缝是最普遍的非传染性足部损伤（分别为37.7%和15.3%）。IFR和OID的患病率分别随年龄（<0.05）和体况评分（<0.01）增加，这表明宿主相关因素和饲养管理措施是其发生的重要决定因素。
