TREATMENT OF FOOT ROT IN CATTLE, GOATS, AND SHEEP

1. Causes of disease
The main cause of the disease is 2 types of anaerobic bacteria without spores, Gram-negative staining.
Fusobacterium necrophorum (F. necrophorum): This bacterium can cause persistent footrot infections in cattle, goats, and sheep. On grasslands, it can survive for several months to even years due to its high resistance to natural environmental conditions. It is a filamentous bacterium, approximately 100 µm in length and 1 µm in diameter.
Dichelobacter (Bacteroides) melaninogenicus (B. melaninogenicus): Often occurs after the animal has been infected with F. necrophorum, making the disease more severe. The bacteria only survive about 3-5 days in the natural environment.
Other bacteria such as Prevotella (Bacteroides) nodosus, Arcanobacterium (Actynomyces) pyogenes, Treponema spp are secondary pathogens.
The bacteria are susceptible only to strong disinfectants, including 2% formalin, 5% phenic acid, and 5% sodium hydroxide solution.
2. Epidemiology
a. Susceptible animal species
In nature, cows, goats, and sheep are susceptible to the disease. The disease spreads widely in concentrated herds of livestock grazing on pastures, so people call it "Contagious foot rot in the pasture".
b. Mode of transmission of the disease
Pathogens released from sick animals into the environment can exist for a long time, especially the bacteria F. necrophorum, causing environmental pollution. That is the condition for the disease to circulate in cattle flocks on pastures, making it very difficult to eradicate.
The disease can be transmitted directly or indirectly. The pathogen exists in moist soil, often intruding the body through skin lesions, between toenails. The disease occurs in the rainy, hot and humid season from late spring to autumn. Pets of all ages can get the disease.
c. Pathogenesis
The favorable conditions for bacteria to intrusion the animal's feet are when the skin of the feet is injured by foreign objects or falls. The pathogenesis of bacteria is related to the ability to adhere to host cells and has protein-lysing activity.
3. Symptom
Incubation period: 3-7 days.
Bacteria enter the wound, causing local inflammation. Then it penetrates deep into the muscle tissue, ligaments, and leg joints, causing the inflammation to spread inside. But on the outside, only small lesions are seen, with a yellow-black discharge, especially with a foul odor. The inflammation will damage the musculoskeletal tissue of the sick animal, leading to lameness, possibly 1, 2, 3, or 4 legs. 
Sick animals have difficulty walking, often limp, have to kneel or lie in one place when eating and drinking water, and in some cases, become paralyzed. In severe cases, the toenails may fall off, making the animal unable to walk. If not treated promptly, the animal's joints will be affected, causing inflammation and necrosis. Some sick animals have complications of sepsis, manifested by high fever, lethargy, very large edematous lesions, necrosis, and a lot of foul-smelling fluid, which can lead to death.
4. Lesions
Surgery on the inflamed areas showed: the muscle and ligament tissues around the leg joints were necrotic, widespread and deep, the toenails could fall off, foul-smelling discharge.
5. Diagnose
- Clinical diagnosis: Based on symptoms such as hoof inflammation, foul-smelling discharge, and the contagious nature of the disease within the herd.
- Subclinical diagnosis: samples of exudate from the inflammatory lesions for smear preparation, bacterial culture, isolation, and identification.
6. Prevention
- Early detection of sick animals, isolation, thorough treatment according to the treatment process and animals that have recovered can be reintegrated into the flocks. If the animal is too sick, cannot be cured, treatment takes too long and is too expensive, it must be culled.
- Animal housing and grazing areas should be cleaned daily, ensuring the removal of sharp objects that could injure the cattle. Disinfection should be carried out periodically to eliminate pathogens. One of the following disinfectants may be used: Five-Iodine, Five-BGF, Five-B.K.G, Five-Perkon 3S, ...

 

- Strict control is exercised when receiving new cattle to eliminate sick cattle. Vaccination can be done before the rainy season, when the disease often spreads. However, vaccination against hoof rot is not very effective.
7. Treatment
- The animal's feet should be soaked in strong disinfectant solutions such as 10–20% zinc sulfate (ZnSO₄), 5% copper sulfate (CuSO₄), or 5–10% formalin. The soaking time should be 10–15 minutes. To reduce pain, a novocaine solution can be added at a concentration of 20 ml per liter of disinfectant solution.
- After foot soaking, all necrotic and inflamed tissues should be carefully removed to expose the wound to air, which promotes faster healing. Surgical tools and the hands of the person performing the procedure must be properly disinfected. The wound should be disinfected using 10% zinc sulfate or 2% iodine solution (prepared using Five-Iodine).
- Pump a mixed antibiotic solution of streptomycin (1g), penicillin (1,000,000 IU), mixed in 100 mL of distilled water, after cutting off the necrotic tissue at the nail base, sprinkle sulfamide powder on the wound, or use Five-Iodine spray on the wound. Then wrap the wound in plastic to avoid contamination, and puncture the plastic in many places to allow ventilation.
- Severe cases require systemic treatment with one of the following medicines: Five-Amox@.LA, Five-Amox.20@LA, Hado-Oxylin.LA,... combined with Five-Clofenac, Five-Butasal, Five-Chymosin,...