Meier Kim Kristin, Müller Kerstin-Elisabeth, Merle Roswitha, Arndt Heidi, Dachrodt Linda, Hoedemaker Martina, Kellermann Laura, Knubben-Schweizer Gabriela, Volkmann Maria, Stock Annegret
Farm Animal Clinic, Division for Ruminants and Camelids, Unit for Internal Medicine and Surgery, School of Veterinary Medicine, Freie Universität Berlin, Berlin, Germany.
Institute of Veterinary Epidemiology and Biostatistics, School of Veterinary Medicine, Freie Universität Berlin, Berlin, Germany.
PLoS One. 2025 Jul 30;20(7):e0329326. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0329326. eCollection 2025.
Clean conditions and prophylactic measures around calving are essential for the health and welfare of calves. Therefore, the objective of this study was to evaluate the association of different navel care (NC) practices on the occurrence of omphalitis in neonatal dairy calves. Between December 2016 and July 2019, 196 dairy farms in Eastern Germany were visited once within a large-scale cross-sectional study. 1,967 calves aged five to 21 days were clinically examined, including palpation of the external umbilicus for inflammation signs. Furthermore, information on animal health and farm management, including the implementation of NC, was obtained through interviews with the farm or herd manager. Causal diagrams were drawn, containing variables considering NC (practice of NC, method of application, preparation applied, frequency of NC, time of first NC, wearing gloves during NC) as influence variables, omphalitis as target variable, and all potential confounders to perform multivariable statistical analyses at animal level. Over one-fourth of all calves examined showed omphalitis signs (n = 525 calves, 26.7%). The odds of omphalitis tended to increase (OR = 2.3) if no NC was performed compared to regular NC. Almost half of all other variables analysed seemed relevant for the occurrence of omphalitis. Administering the preparation into the umbilical cord reduced the odds of omphalitis by 62% compared to no NC. Repeated applications tended to decrease the odds of omphalitis by 44% compared to single applications. Furthermore, wearing gloves during NC tended to increase the odds of omphalitis by 30% compared to not wearing gloves. Neither the preparation applied, the method of application, nor the timing of NC had an impact on the omphalitis occurrence. Considering these results, different NC practices influence the odds of omphalitis in neonatal dairy calves. Nevertheless, further investigations are necessary regarding the application procedure of NC during the daily farm routine.
产犊前后的清洁条件和预防措施对犊牛的健康和福利至关重要。因此，本研究的目的是评估不同的脐部护理（NC）方法与新生奶牛犊牛脐炎发生之间的关联。在2016年12月至2019年7月期间，在一项大规模横断面研究中，对德国东部的196个奶牛场进行了一次走访。对1967头5至21日龄的犊牛进行了临床检查，包括触诊外部脐部以检查炎症迹象。此外，通过与农场或畜群管理者访谈，获取了有关动物健康和农场管理的信息，包括NC的实施情况。绘制了因果图，其中包含将NC（NC的做法、应用方法、所用制剂、NC频率、首次NC时间、NC期间戴手套情况）作为影响变量、脐炎作为目标变量以及所有潜在混杂因素，以便在动物层面进行多变量统计分析。在所有接受检查的犊牛中，超过四分之一表现出脐炎迹象（n = 525头犊牛，26.7%）。与常规NC相比，如果不进行NC，脐炎的几率往往会增加（OR = 2.3）。几乎所有其他分析变量中，有近一半似乎与脐炎的发生有关。与不进行NC相比，将制剂注入脐带可使脐炎的几率降低62%。与单次应用相比，重复应用往往可使脐炎的几率降低44%。此外，与不戴手套相比，NC期间戴手套往往会使脐炎的几率增加30%。所用制剂、应用方法以及NC的时间安排均对脐炎的发生没有影响。考虑到这些结果，不同的NC做法会影响新生奶牛犊牛患脐炎的几率。然而，关于日常农场作业中NC的应用程序，仍有必要进行进一步调查。
