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Introduction: Diseases of the digits often occur in cattle on larger cattle mountain pastures. In the late spring 2020, at the time of the ascent of 1554 cattle to 11 high altitude alpine pastures in the Lower Engadine region, lesions in the area of the digits were clinically assessed and documented. 254 cattle were of non-cantonal and 1300 of local origin (Lower Engadine; postal code CH-75XX). Skin lesions in the area of the digits, identified as digital dermatitis (DD; Mortellaro's disease), were further classified according to the DD scoring system. Nonspecific skin lesions with clinical evidence of granulation tissue formation were termed chronic penetrating skin lesions (CPSL). At the end of the alpine pasturing season, in the early fall (descent of cattle from the alpine pastures), the procedure was repeated, and biopsies were taken from randomly selected cattle with CPSL. Digital dermatitis lesions were found in 34 of 1551 cattle at ascent, but no case of CPSL was found at that time. At descent, 19 of 1529 cattle had DD lesions and 88 cattle had CPSL. The clinical appearance of the CPSL was consistent with chronic skin lesions caused by penetrating skin lacerations. Histologically, the majority of the CPSL were classified as chronic hyperplastic dermatitis with granulation tissue formation. In all CPSL biopsies examined by PCR, Fusobacterium necrophorum and Porphyromonas levii, but neither Dichelobacter nodosus nor the tested Treponema species were detected. Fluorescence in situ hybridization revealed a negative result for Treponema species in all biopsies. In the regression analysis, cattle in the age group of 365 to 730 days had an increased risk for the presence of CPSL compared to the age group of 160 to 365 days (odds ratio (OR) = 4,95; confidence interval (CI) = 1,97-12,43). Holstein cattle had an increased risk of developing CPSL compared to Brown cattle (OR = 2,92; CI = 1,46-5,86) and cattle of non-cantonal origin showed a massively higher risk compared to local cattle (OR = 10,59; CI = 5,79 - 19,37). The statistically significant associations found in the present study can be taken into account in the selection of animals for summer pasturing on high altitudes in the future in order to reduce the prevalence of CPSL and consequently reduce the antimicrobial use. Spread of DD during the alpine pasturing season within the cattle groups examined was not found.

Introduction: In the present study, risk groups for infectious foot disorders were identified on two large Swiss cattle mountain pastures by analyzing animal and treatment data of a total of 3256 animals of the bovine species. Both mountain pastures were part of the Federal Office for Agriculture (FOAG) consultancy project «Healthy animals, attractive herdsmen positions and less medication on large cattle mountain pastures». The project was launched in 2020 following the increased incidence of lameness on these mountain pastures. Bacteriological and histological analyses were to provide information as to whether the most common foot disorder was interdigital phlegmon (IP) or whether digital dermatitis also occurred. Further, the temporal distribution of cases over the mountain pasture season and the influence of mountain pasture and year were investigated and interpreted for the project years 2020 to 2022, and treatment incidences were compared between years. Multiple treatment cycles in the same individual were classified into persistent infections and new infections. Nineteen of 394 first-treated cattle were clinically examined, 12 of them were additionally sampled for bacteriological and histological analyses. All cases examined showed, both clinically and following laboratory analyses, typical characteristics for IP. In contrast, there was no specific evidence for the presence of digital dermatitis. No persistent infections occurred during treatment with benzylpenicillin. Multivariate logistic regression analyses identified > 365-730-day-old cattle (odds ratio OR 8,29), as well as inseminated (OR 5,30) and non-inseminated (OR 7,85) heifers as risk groups for the disease studied (p < 0,05). Association with the oestrus activity of non-inseminated heifers and a generally higher locomotor activity in heifers compared to cows - with a correspondingly increased risk of injury - is conceivable. Meat breeds had a reduced risk compared to dairy breeds (OR 0,29). Breed differences in behavior and/or the effectiveness of the local immune response might have an impact. Knowing about these risk groups can be put to use in the future when selecting animals to be taken to the mountain pastures and/or when planning pasture management in order to reduce the prevalence of infectious foot disorders and thereby the use of antibiotics.

Interdigital hyperplasia (IH) is a fold of fibrous tissue protruding into the interdigital space that rarely occurs in sheep. Interdigital hyperplasia secondary infected with bovine digital dermatitis (BDD) treponemes has been reported in cattle in the course of the increasing spread of classical BDD lesions. In this report, we describe proliferative/ulcerative interdigital lesions associated with contagious ovine digital dermatitis (CODD) treponemes and clinically scored as (IH+CODD), occurring in both hind limbs of a ram and the left hindlimb of a ewe. Both cases exhibited epidermal hyperplasia, parakeratosis and focal-extensive areas of epidermal necrosis with numerous infiltrating neutrophils. Treponema PCR and fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) were positive for Treponema phylotype 1 (PT1). In addition, Dichelobacter (D.) nodosus and Porphyromonas (P.) levii were detected in the biopsy by PCR. In three slaughter sheep, without claw lesions, which were kept together with both affected sheep, Treponema spp. were detected neither with PCR nor FISH; the PCRs for D. nodosus and P. levii were also negative. Complete clinical healing occurred in the ewe within 6 weeks after three local applications of a chlortetracycline spray in 2 weeks intervals. This report is the first description of IH+CODD in sheep as demonstrated by a combination of histopathological and molecular analyses., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2023 Alsaaod, Schmid, Zwahlen, Soto, Wildi, Seuberlich and Steiner.)

Digital dermatitis (DD) associated with the presence of multiple Treponema spp. was recently described for the first time in European bison ( Bison bonasus ). DD is characterized by skin inflammation in the distal foot area in various ungulates. The objective of this proof of concept study was to test a treatment protocol adopted from cattle for its applicability in this wildlife species using five animals. Keratolytic salicylic acid paste was administered topically under bandages for seven days to enable removal of the affected skin. All interventions were performed under general anesthesia. To evaluate the treatment efficacy, photographs and biopsies were taken pre- and post-treatment. The biopsies were examined histologically, by PCR for the presence of different bacterial species, by Treponema -specific fluorescent in situ hybridization (FISH), and by transmission electron microscopy. Based on photographs, complete clinical healing of the 15 feet with macroscopical DD lesions was achieved. Histological examination showed mild to moderate dermatitis in 17/20 feet before, and in 12/20 feet after treatment. 17/20 feet were Treponema spp. PCR positive before, and none was positive after treatment. Dichelobacter nodosus, Fusobacterium necrophorum , and Porphyromonas levii could not be detected in any of the samples. By FISH and electron microscopy, Treponema spp. could be visualized in the stratum corneum before, but not after treatment. These results suggest that this treatment method can be applied as standard practice prior to transporting DD affected European bison to prevent the spread of this contagious disease., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2022 Jucker, Alsaaod, Steiner, Zingre, Kaessmeyer, Gurtner, Friker, Brandt, Jensen and Hoby.)

Introduction: Contagious ovine digital dermatitis (CODD) is an emerging infectious foot disease in sheep. To date, CODD has been described in Great Britain, Ireland, Sweden and Germany and now in Switzerland for the first time. Unlike foot rot, the CODD lesions do not spread from the interdigital space, but usually begin at the dorsal/abaxial coronary band. The changes can spread to the hoof wall and the sole and finally can lead to exungulation, similar to foot rot. Treponema spp. are often found in CODD lesions analogous to digital dermatitis (Mortellaro's disease) in cattle. Involvement of Dichelobacter nodosus (D. nodosus) is considered a risk factor, but the presence of the bacterium is not mandatory. In February 2022, ulcerative lesions in the dorso-axial coronary band area were noticed on both claws of the left forelimb in an ewe. Histology of the biopsy showed hyperkeratosis and erosion with exocytosis and crust formation. Treponema spp. PCR and fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) were positive for Treponema phylotype 1 (PT1). In addition, D. nodosus and Porphyromonas levii could be detected in the biopsy using PCR. A single local application of chlortetracycline spray led to clinical healing within two weeks, no recurrence was seen within the following two months. Three control sheep, which were kept together with the diseased sheep, did not show any clinical signs of CODD. Treponema spp could not be found in interdigital and coronary band biopsies by PCR or FISH. This is the first description of CODD in Switzerland and aims to sensitize veterinarians to CODD as a differential diagnosis for foot diseases in sheep.

The increasing prevalence of bovine digital dermatitis (BDD) contributes to a higher occurrence of secondary infections of exposed corium with Treponema spp. in bovine claws. "Non-healing" claw horn lesions (NHL) clinically resemble BDD lesions. They are severe, cause chronic lameness, and may persist for several months. They poorly respond to standard treatments of BDD and represent a serious welfare issue. In this study, four cases of NHL were classified clinically either as BDD-associated axial horn fissures (BDD-HFA; n = 3) or BDD-associated sole ulcer (BDD-SU; n = 1). In all four cases, pronounced multifocal keratinolysis of the stratum corneum, ulceration, and severe chronic lymphoplasmacytic perivascular to interstitial dermatitis were observed. All lesional samples tested positive for Treponema spp., Fusobacterium ( F .) necrophorum , and Porphyromonas ( P .) levii by PCRs. BDD-HFA lesions contained Treponema pedis as revealed by genetic identities of 93, 99, and 100%. Treponemes in the BDD-SU lesion were 94% homologous to Treponema phylotype PT3. Fluorescent in situ hybridization (FISH) revealed extensive epidermal infiltration by treponemes that made up > 90% of the total bacterial population in all four lesions. FISH also tested positive for P. levii and negative for F. necrophorum in all four cases, whilst only one BDD-HFA contained Dichelobacter nodosus . Our data point to BDD-associated treponemes and P. levii constituting potential etiological agents in the development of "non-healing" claw horn lesions in cattle., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2022 Alsaaod, Weber, Jensen, Brandt, Gurtner, Devaux, Studer and Steiner.)

A national control program for virulent footrot is currently planned in Switzerland. Since commonly used disinfectants either contain heavy metals or are carcinogenic, the aim of this study was to verify the effectiveness of an eco-friendly and non-carcinogenic candidate disinfectant against aprV2 -positive strains of Dichelobacter nodosus . Additionally, the effect of the selective use of long-acting oxytetracyclines was evaluated. A total of 18 farms with confirmed footrot infection, randomly allocated to two treatment groups: (1) with antibiotics (AB; n = 9) and, (2) no antibiotics (NAB; n = 9), were included. Claws were carefully trimmed and scored using a scale from 0 (clinically healthy) to 5 (complete loss of the horn capsule) and a prewash waterbath was implemented on 11 farms. Twice-weekly, repeated whole-flock stand-in footbaths with the candidate disinfectant (6%) were performed. Additionally, animals of group AB with a score ≥ 3 were administered oxytetracyclines by injection. On all farms, 10 days after last treatment, aprV2 -positive strains could not be detected by risk-based sampling for real-time PCR analysis after 7-21 (median = 12) footbaths with a minimal culling rate of non-responders on nine farms. Farms without contact to other sheep remained without clinical signs of footrot for a minimum of 245 days (mean ± standard deviation: 293.6 ± 23.6). Antibiotic treatment did not reduce the number of footbaths needed. In contrast, a mean of 3.3 disinfecting footbaths could be saved by implementing a prewash waterbath. At animal level, individual and selective use of oxytetracyclines lead to a higher chance (odds ratio = 9.95; 95% CI: 3.54-27.95; p < 0.001) for a lesion score ≥ 3 to improve to a lesion score < 3 within 2 weeks compared to treatment without antibiotics. The test disinfectant is an effective and eco-friendly alternative for the planned Swiss footrot control program and selective use of oxytetracycline has a beneficial impact on the recovery of animals with lesion scores ≥ 3., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2022 Schmid, Steiner, Becker, Baumberger, Dürr and Alsaaod.)

The efficacy of salicylic acid paste (SA) in the treatment of ulcerative bovine digital dermatitis (BDD) was assessed by combining clinical and histopathological analyses with molecular biological techniques. The latter were conducted in a blinded manner to reach maximum objectivity. Prior to treatment, M2-stage BDD lesions (n = 26, diagnosed in 21 dairy cows) exhibited ulceration, with severe perivascular, chronic, lymphoplasmacytic dermatitis and extensive keratinolysis being noted in most cases. Pretreatment biopsy samples (n = 12) followed by povidone-iodine ointment under bandage for one week before administration of SA paste were tested positive for Treponema spp. by blinded PCR and fluorescent in situ hybridization (FISH). Subsequent treatment consisted of application of SA and bandaging at weekly intervals until lesions had completely resolved. The treatment duration ranged between 2 and 4 weeks. Complete healing was achieved in 100% of cases, with 2/21 animals requiring a second round of treatment upon disease reoccurrence. Importantly, only 3/26 biopsies taken from previously affected sites still tested positive by Treponema PCR, and in another biopsy, the outermost layers of the stratum corneum scored weakly positive by Treponema-specific FISH. None of these Treponema DNA-positive biopsies showed signs of ulceration. One case exhibited focal keratinolysis. Positive PCR or FISH in these cases may have arisen from DNA traces of dead bacteria or environmental contamination during biopsy harvesting. To our knowledge, this is the first study on blinded molecular biological monitoring of the therapeutic efficacy of SA with respect to treponemal infection, and on complete BDD M2-stage remission in all animals achieved by SA treatment according to an optimized protocol. Although the etiology of BDD is considered as multifactorial, our data further support the concept that treponemes have a decisive role in BDD pathogenesis., Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

Pasture based systems enable cattle to express their natural behavior and are thus expected to provide better welfare than the majority of confinement systems. The aim of this study was to objectively measure locomotion activity of healthy dairy cattle kept on mountain pastures (n = 44) compared with cows kept in cubicle housing systems (n = 38). Selected cows were equipped with a validated 3D-accelerometer on one hind limb, and locomotion behavior was recorded for 48 hours. The 1-hour summaries of the variables lying time, walking time, standing bouts, walking bouts and number of strides were summed up to 24-hour summaries, and the means of the stride distance and stride duration were weighted by the variable number of strides. Mountain pasture cows had higher locomotor activity levels in comparison to cubicle cows. Mountain pasture cows spent less time lying down (528.1±109.5 min/day vs. 693.3±73.8 min/day; P<0.0001) and more time walking (75.6±25.9 min/day vs. 38.8±15.8 min/day; P <0.0001) than cubicle cows. Lying bout duration was longer in cubicle than in mountain pasture cows (90.9± 15.2 min/bout vs. 74.2 ± 21.1 min/bout; P = 0.0001), whilst the number of walking bouts was higher in mountain pasture cows than cubicle cows (199.1 ± 49.1 vs. 123.8 ± 43.8 bouts per day; P < 0.001). Likewise, the number of strides was higher in mountain pasture cows than cubicle cows (2040.5 ± 825.3 vs. 916.7 ± 408.6; P < 0.001). Mountain pasture cows had shorter stride duration (P < 0.0001) and shorter strides (P = 0.0002) than cubicle cows (1.8 ± 0.1 s/stride vs 2 ± 0.2 s/stride and 126.3 ± 18.1 vs 142.1 ± 17.8 m/stride, respectively). In summary, cows kept on mountain pasture were more active and spent longer than 12 hours / day standing. Lying markedly less than 12 hours per day seems to represent the normal behavior of pastured cows searching for fresh grass. This does not cause any obvious damage to the locomotor system as claws of cattle are well adapted to long periods of movement on mountain pastures., Competing Interests: he authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

The study aims to verify the usefulness of new intervals-based algorithms for clinical interpretation of animal behavior in dairy cows around calving period. Thirteen activities associated with feeding-ruminating-locomotion-behaviors of 42 adult Holstein-Friesian cows were continuously monitored for the week (wk) -2, wk -1 and wk +1 relative to calving (overall 30'340 min/animal). Soon after, animals were retrospectively assigned to group-S (at least one spontaneous diseases; n = 24) and group-H (healthy; n = 18). The average activities performed by the groups, recorded by RumiWatch® halter and pedometer, were compared at the different weekly intervals. The average activities on the day of clinical diagnosis (dd0), as well as one (dd-1) and two days before (dd-2) were also assessed. Differences of dd0 vs. dd-1 (ΔD1), dd0 vs. wk -1 (ΔD2), and wk +1 vs. wk -1 (Δweeks) were calculated. Variables showing significant differences between the groups were used for a univariate logistic regression, a receiver operating characteristic analysis, and a multivariate logistic regression model. At wk +1 and dd0, eating- and ruminating-time, eating- and ruminate-chews and ruminating boluses were significantly lower in group-S as compared to group-H, while other activity time was higher. For ΔD2 and Δweeks, the differences of eating- and ruminating-time, as well as of eating-and ruminate-chews were significantly lower in group-S as compared to group-H. Concerning the locomotion behaviors, the lying time was significantly higher in group-S vs. group-H at wk +1 and dd-2. The number of strides was significantly lower in group-S compared to group-H at wk +1. The model including eating-chews, ruminate-chews and other activity time reached the highest accuracy in detecting sick cows in wk +1 (area under the curve: 81%; sensitivity: 73.7%; specificity: 82.4%). Some of the new algorithms for the clinical interpretation of cow behaviour as described in this study may contribute to monitoring animals' health around calving., Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

Introduction: Since the spread of classical digital dermatitis (DD) lesions within the cattle population, frequency of infections of interdigital hyperplasia (IH) lesions with DD-associated Treponema spp. (IH+DD) increased. The aim of the present case series is to describe an alternative treatment technique to surgical lesion removal or local treatment of HI+DD lesions with antibiotics. In this report, the effect of repeated local administration of salicylic acid paste, protected by a water repellent bandage was described and assessed for the treatment of four dairy cows with IH+DD lesions. Milker's fat Eutra was applied to the unaffected skin adjacent to the lesion to protect healthy skin from the keratolytic properties of salicylic acid paste. Treatment was repeated at weekly intervals in all four cases until the IH+DD lesions had completely clinically healed. Two cows additionally showed classical DD lesions between the heels. Clinical healing was defined as remission of IH and complete healing of the DD lesions located on IH lesions and between the heels. Complete healing was evident at three weeks of treatment in all four cases. Weekly repeated topical application of salicylic acid paste under bandage may be recommended as an alternative to surgical or antibiotic treatment of IH+DD lesions.

A newly-discovered foot disease of unknown origin in captive European Bison (Bison bonasus) was recently detected at Berne Animal Park. Dermatitis of the interdigital cleft of varying degrees of severity was diagnosed in all animals (n = 10). The aim of this study was to describe the gross and histological lesions of the interdigital cleft found in 10 captive European bison and to identify involved potential pathogens in affected feet using molecular-based methods for Treponema spp., Dichelobacter nodosus and Fusobacterium necrophorum. Lesions were scored according to the degree of gross pathology at limb level. In a single animal, the gross lesions were restricted to focal lesions on the dorsal aspect of the digital skin of each foot (score 1), whereas all other animals showed at least one foot with extended lesions including the interdigital cleft (score 2). The presence of viable spirochaetes was observed in all animals using dark field microscopy. Applying fluorescence in situ hybridisation (FISH) on biopsies, Treponema spp. were identified, infiltrating the skin lesions in varying numbers in nine animals. Nested PCRs for Treponema medium, Treponema phagedenis and Treponema pedis of swab samples showed three positive animals out of ten for the latter two, whereas pooled biopsy samples were positive in all ten animals for at least T. phagedenis (9/10) and/or T. pedis (7/10), while all samples were negative for T. medium. However, none of these Treponema species could be isolated and sequence analysis of the amplified products showed 100% match of 365 base pairs (bp) to Treponema phylotype PT3 and almost full match (530 of 532 bp, 99.6%) to Treponema phylotype PT13. The presence of T. phagedenis, PT3 and PT13 phylotypes was confirmed by FISH analyses. The phylotypes of T. phagedenis were present in all hybridized positive biopsies of Treponema spp., and PT13 and PT3 were less abundant. Neither D. nodosus nor F. necrophorum were detected. The histological Treponema score was mostly mild. Digital dermatitis in captive European Bison is contagious and differs from bovine digital dermatitis, concerning associated pathogens as well as gross appearance., Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

Digital dermatitis (DD) is a major infectious foot disease of cattle worldwide. Some DD stages are associated with lameness, and the disease has significant economic and animal welfare consequences. The pathogenesis of the disease is not yet fully understood, but Treponema spp. have been associated consistently with clinical cases. Isolation of these fastidious bacteria is difficult and cumbersome. We describe an improved method enabling the culturing of the 3 Treponema spp. ( T. pedis , T. phagedenis , and T. medium ) from bovine foot specimens derived from DD lesions, using a combination of membrane filtering and subsequent growth on selective agar media. The entire procedure from sampling to verification of individual Treponema spp. takes up to 24 d. In addition, we established a MALDI-TOF MS-based identification method to be applied for confirmation of the different Treponema spp. This scheme provides an unambiguous, simple, and straightforward identification procedure for DD-associated Treponema spp.

Introduction: Dichelobacter nodosus (D. nodosus) is the etiological agent of ovine footrot affecting mainly sheep worldwide, but also free-ranging wild ungulates such as Alpine ibex (Capra ibex ibex) and mufflon (Ovis orientalis orientalis). A nationwide ovine footrot eradication program is planned for the years to come, based on polymerase chain reaction (PCR)-testing of interdigital swab samples and regular footbathing. In this cross-sectional study, we clinically evaluated the foot health and analysed presence of D. nodosus in 11 different even-toed ungulate species (mainly European species) during a 13 months (2018-2019) period in Berne Animal Park. The foot lesions were scored for any clinical signs of pathologies as described in cattle and simultaneously for clinical signs of footrot as described for sheep, using a scale from 0 to 5 (while 0 describes clinically healthy feet and 5 loss of the horn capsule). From a total of 53 animals, 4-feet swab samples were taken from the interdigital cleft and subjected to real-time PCR assays to detect D. nodosus at animal level. Foot lesions were detected in five different species. In 3/5 muskoxen (Ovibos moschatus wardi), 7/12 Cretan wild goats (Capra hircus cretica) and 2/3 dwarf goats (Capra hircus aegagrus), they mainly consisted of white line disease, whereas in 9/10 European bison, dermatitis of the interdigital cleft was diagnosed. 1/3 alpaca was diagnosed with chorioptic mange of the heel area. None of the examined animals showed clinical signs of footrot (score 0), and neither benign (aprB2-positive) nor virulent (aprV2-positive) D. nodosus were detected in any of the samples. This study provides additional information to facilitate an efficient ovine footrot control program in Switzerland and suggests that captive wild even-toed ungulates do not pose a risk to the planned footrot control program.

Background: Arthroscopic surgery is described as a minimally invasive technique for diagnosis, exploration and treatment of joint disorders. It allows intraarticular structures to be assessed accurately, thereby improving the diagnostic capabilities, and it broadens the spectrum of surgical techniques feasible for treatment of articular pathologies in cattle. This study aimed to assess for cattle the described arthroscopic approaches to the shoulder joint of horses, and to describe the appearance of the corresponding intraarticular structures of the shoulder joint. Additionally, to perform histological examination where tissues were identified and assessed arthroscopically, but the tissue type was uncertain using cadaveric limbs from cattle of different age categories without any signs of orthopedic diseases of the front limbs., Results: An anatomic and arthroscopic investigation with 34-cadaveric forelimbs from 20-cattle was performed. The arthroscope was inserted either immediately cranial or 1-cm caudal to the tendon of the infraspinatus muscle for the cranial and caudal approaches, respectively. The shoulder joints were examined with the limbs in either horizontal non-pulled position, abducted non-pulled position using a three-pod limb holder adjustable in height, or horizontal manually pulled position. Arthroscopy was performed using a rigid 30°arthroscope (18-cm length, 4-mm outer diameter) to view the synovial pouches with their synovial villi and the following structures: cranial rim of the glenoid, cranial portion of the humeral head, incisura-glenoidalis, caudal rim of the glenoid, caudal portion of the humeral head, and cranial and caudal cul-de-sac. Abduction of the limb allowed improved visualization of the lateral portion of the joint. Pulling the limb facilitated investigation of the medial portion of the joint. Generally, the distention range was higher in younger as compared to adult cattle, and visualization of the medial portion of the joint was, therefore, facilitated in younger animals. The main complications observed were subcutaneous fluid extravasations and partial-thickness articular cartilages wear-lines., Conclusion: The described arthroscopic techniques allowed good overall visualization of the most relevant anatomical structures within the healthy cadaveric joint. Further investigations are warranted to evaluate the diagnostic and therapeutic applications of these techniques and the prognosis of arthroscopic surgery as a tool for the treatment of joint lesions.

' Treponema phagedenis ' was originally described in 1912 by Noguchi but the name was not validly published and no type strain was designated. The taxon was not included in the Approved Lists of Bacterial Names and hence has no standing in nomenclature. Six Treponema strains positive in a ' T. phagedenis ' phylogroup-specific PCR test were isolated from digital dermatitis (DD) lesions of cattle and further characterized and compared with the human strain ' T. phagedenis ' ATCC 27087. Results of phenotypic and genotypic analyses including API ZYM, VITEK2, MALDI-TOF and electron microscopy, as well as whole genome sequence data, respectively, showed that they form a cluster of species identity. Moreover, this species identity was shared with ' T. phagedenis '-like strains reported in the literature to be regularly isolated from bovine DD. High average nucleotide identity values between the genomes of bovine and human ' T. phagedenis ' were observed. Slight genomic as well as phenotypic variations allowed us to differentiate bovine from human isolates, indicating host adaptation. Based on the fact that this species is regularly isolated from bovine DD and that the name is well dispersed in the literature, we propose the species Treponema phagedenis sp. nov., nom. rev. The species can phenotypically and genetically be identified and is clearly separated from other Treponema species. The valid species designation will allow to further explore its role in bovine DD. The type strain for Treponema phagedenis sp. nov., nom. rev. is B43.1 T (=DSM 110455 T =NCTC 14362 T ) isolated from a bovine DD lesion in Switzerland.

In veterinary practice pain alleviation plays a part in managing lameness. The aim of this randomized and placebo-controlled clinical study was to evaluate the effect of a single administration of ketoprofen on locomotion characteristics and weight distribution in cattle with foot (located up to and including the fetlock; n = 31) and (proximal to the fetlock; n = 10) pathologies. Cattle were randomly allocated to either the ketoprofen (group K; intravenous 3 mg/kg of body weight; n = 21) or an equivalent volume of isotonic sterile saline solution (group P; n = 20). Two accelerometers (400 Hz; kinematic outcome = stance phase duration; kinetic outcome = foot load and toe-off), a 4-scale weighing platform (weight distribution and SD of the weight) and a subjective locomotion score were measured before (baseline) and after 1 h and 18 h of treatment. All variables were expressed as differences across contralateral limbs, and the measurements at 1 h and 18 h were compared to the baseline. A repeated measures ANOVA was used to determine the differences between groups K and P. A logistic regression model with a binary outcome (0 = no improvement and 1 = improvement of the differences across the contralateral limbs over time) was calculated. Mean (± SD) of locomotion scores at baseline were not significantly different (P = 0.102) in group K (3.10 ± 0.80) as compared to group P (3.48 ± 0.64). Cattle of group K showed significantly lower differences across contralateral limbs at 1 h as compared to group P for the relative stance phase and the weight distribution. Only the treatment (P versus K) remained a significant factor in the model for relative stance phase (odds ratio (OR) = 6.5; 95% CI = 1.38-30.68) and weight distribution (OR = 6.36; 95% CI = 1.30-31.07). The effects of ketoprofen were evident in improving the differences across contralateral limbs-both for stance phase during walking and weight bearing during standing-after 1 h but not after 18 h of administration., Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

Introduction: The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of the three Treponema species as well as D. nodosus in Digital dermatitis (DD) and slurry of Swiss cattle using PCR. A total of 86 specimens from 24 farms were enrolled in the study. Slurry samples from 21 DD-affected and one unaffected farm were collected to assess the potential of environmental transmission. Nested and real-time PCR were performed from the specimens to detect Treponema species and D. nodosus, respectively. The DD-stages were positive for at least one or more of the DD-associated Treponema species in 50 of 61 cases (82.0%) and in 9 of 25 cases (36.0%) in unaffected animals. Infected animals with small focal active lesions showed a significantly lower prevalence (14.8%) compared to the other DD stages (67.2%; P=0.011). Most prevalent was T. phagedenis (65.1%). D. nodosus was detected in 51.8% of clinical DD lesions and 24.1% in unaffected cases, but its presence was not significantly associated with the various DD-stages. All samples positive for D. nodosus contained the acid protease gene aprB2 but were negative for aprV2, the latter associated with virulence in sheep foot rot. Control farms were negative for all DD-associated Treponema species while positive for aprB2 and negative for aprV2. The presence of aprB2 suggests it is ubiquitous in the animal environment. With respect to the slurry samples, three out of 21 specimens (14.3%) were positive for one or more of the DD-associated Treponema species and eleven out of 21 specimens (52.4%) were positive for aprB2 and negative for aprV2 of D. nodosus. In conclusion, an association was found between the presence of clinical DD and specific Treponema species, while for D. nodosus no such link with DD lesions could be observed.

There is an increasing demand for health and welfare monitoring in modern dairy farming. The development of various innovative techniques aims at improving animal behaviour monitoring and thus animal welfare indicators on-farm. Automated lameness detection systems have to be valid, reliable and practicable to be applied in veterinary practice or under farm conditions. The objective of this literature review was to describe the current automated systems for detection of lameness in cattle, which have been recently developed and investigated for application in dairy research and practice. The automatic methods of lameness detection broadly fall into three categories: kinematic, kinetic and indirect methods. The performance of the methods were compared with the reference standard (locomotion score and/or lesion score) and evaluated based on level-based scheme defining the degree of development (level I, sensor technique; level II, validation of algorithm; level III, performance for detection of lameness and/or lesion; level IV, decision support with early warning system). Many scientific studies have been performed on levels I-III, but there are no studies of level IV technology. The adoption rate of automated lameness detection systems by herd managers mainly yields returns on investment by the early identification of lame cows. Long-term studies, using validated automated lameness detection systems aiming at early lameness detection, are still needed in order to improve welfare and production under field conditions., (Copyright © 2019 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)