Claw diseases are the dominant cause of lameness in dairy cows and a risk factor for mastitis

Abstract

Lameness and mastitis are two of the most economically important issues for the dairy industry. This study aimed to obtain a clearer analysis of the link between mastitis and lameness in dairy cows using the Mastitis Score and detecting the pathogens that predominate in dairy cows’ milk samples with claw diseases. During routine claw trimming, milk samples were collected from dairy cows in two Slovak dairy farms. Out of 558 cows presented for claw trimming, 144 cows (25.8%) exhibited lameness from claw diseases. The most prevalent disease in our study was digital dermatitis (43.1%), followed by toe necrosis (41.7%), and Rusterholz ulcer (15.3%). Udder inflammation in clinical form was diagnosed based on clinical examination of individual udder quarters, and sensory evaluation of milk from each quarter and in the subclinical form by the CMT. Mastitis was detected in 80 cows with claw diseases, clinical mastitis in 14 cows (17.5%), and subclinical mastitis in 66 cows (82.5%). On both farms, Mastitis Scores were significantly higher in dairy cows affected by claw diseases than in the non-lame ones. In mastitic cows affected by claw diseases, environmental pathogens dominated the infected milk samples. Our findings showed that cows with claw disease were more likely to have mastitis.