Clinical and microbiological evaluation of foot diseases in small ruminants in Siirt province (Türkiye) and its districts.

Foot diseases are one of the leading health problems that lead to significant yield losses in small ruminant breeding. This study aimed to clinically evaluate foot diseases in sheep and goats reared in Siirt province of Türkiye and its surrounding districts. Molecular methods were used to investigate the presence of  serogroups and spp. phylogroups in cases with identified lesions. Clinical examination of 4 111 sheep and goats identified foot diseases in 402 animals, affecting a total of 410 feet. Contagious ovine digital dermatitis (CODD) and digital dermatitis (DD) cases were identified in 66.82% and 26.82% of diseased feet, respectively. Footrot lesions were found in 4.87% of the feet in which the disease was identified.   was detected in 66.23% of swab samples collected from 77 CODD cases, whereas spp. was identified in 2.59% of the samples. Among DD cases ( = 110), was found in 35.45% and spp. in 17.27% (Group 1 = 1.81%, Group 2 = 15.45%). The majority of  strains identified in the cases ( = 90) were classified as serogroup A (37.77%) and serogroup D (60.00%). This study revealed that CODD is a major problem in small ruminant breeding in the Siirt province and its districts. It was determined that   serogroup A, D and spp Group 2 strains played an important role in the aetiology of foot diseases in sheep and goats. This study represents the first comprehensive investigation of foot diseases in sheep and goats in the Siirt province and marks a significant milestone as the first study in Türkiye to identify and analyse the aetiology causes of CODD in the literature.