Gessese Abebe Tesfaye, Ayele Abayineh, Kinde Mebrie Zemene, Asmare Asefa
College of Veterinary Medicine and Animal Sciences, University of Gondar, P.O. Box 196, Gondar, Ethiopia.
Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Hawassa University, Hawassa, Ethiopia.
Vet Med Int. 2024 Mar 11;2024:2732333. doi: 10.1155/2024/2732333. eCollection 2024.
Lameness is one of the greatest constraints on the productivity, health, and welfare of dairy cattle. A cross-sectional study was carried out from March 2021 to September 2021 in Hawassa town with the aim of assessing the prevalence and identifying the associated risk factors of lameness in dairy farms. The study was conducted on 440 animals belonging to 19 randomly selected intensive dairy farms. Data regarding lameness and its possible risk factors were collected both at animal and farm level using a questionnaire. The results showed that the overall prevalence of lameness was 10.2% ( = 45/440). The association of lameness prevalence with various risk factors including milking status, exercise, age, parity, milk yield, and lactation stage was statistically tested using logistic regression model. There was a significant variation in the prevalence of lameness ( < 0.05) between cattle with different milking status, age, parity, milk yield, and stage of lactation by the univariable analysis result. According to the multivariable analysis, only milk yield and lactation stage were statistically associated with the occurrence of lameness. Milking animals (8%) had higher prevalence of lameness than nonmilking (2.2%). The occurrence of lameness increased with milk yield. The highest prevalence of lameness was recorded in the early stage of lactation. Lameness was more frequent in hind limbs (6.6%) than in forelimbs (3.6%). The main causes of lameness observed in this study were both claw overgrowth 10 (2.3%), unequal claw size 10 (2.3%), solar ulcer 8 (1.8%), interdigital necrobacillosis 2 (0.5%), interdigital hyperplasia 2 (0.5%), and digital dermatitis 1 (0.2%). There was no means of early lameness diagnosis in 94.7% of farms. Lameness was found to be an important disease in dairy cows at Hawassa town. Prevention and early diagnosis leading to prompt treatment of lameness in cows should be part of dairy farm management practice.
跛行是奶牛生产力、健康和福利的最大制约因素之一。2021年3月至2021年9月在哈瓦萨镇开展了一项横断面研究，旨在评估奶牛场跛行的患病率并确定相关风险因素。该研究对19个随机选择的集约化奶牛场的440头奶牛进行。使用问卷在动物和农场层面收集了有关跛行及其可能风险因素的数据。结果显示，跛行的总体患病率为 $10.2%$（$n = 45/440$）。使用逻辑回归模型对跛行患病率与包括挤奶状态、运动、年龄、胎次、产奶量和泌乳阶段在内的各种风险因素之间的关联进行了统计检验。单变量分析结果显示，不同挤奶状态、年龄、胎次、产奶量和泌乳阶段的奶牛跛行患病率存在显著差异（$P < 0.05$）。根据多变量分析，只有产奶量和泌乳阶段与跛行的发生存在统计学关联。正在挤奶的奶牛（$8%$）跛行患病率高于未挤奶的奶牛（$2.2%$）。跛行的发生率随着产奶量的增加而升高。泌乳早期跛行患病率最高。后肢跛行（$6.6%$）比前肢跛行（$3.6%$）更常见。本研究中观察到的跛行主要原因包括爪过度生长10例（$2.3%$）、爪大小不均10例（$2.3%$）、蹄底溃疡8例（$1.8%$）、指间坏死杆菌病2例（$0.5%$）、指间增生2例（$0.5%$）和趾间皮炎1例（$0.2%$）。$94.7%$ 的农场没有早期跛行诊断方法。在哈瓦萨镇，跛行被发现是奶牛的一种重要疾病。预防和早期诊断并及时治疗奶牛跛行应成为奶牛场管理实践的一部分。
