Mold limb

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The foot rot (syn. Schafpanaritium , foot rot ) is a common worldwide bacterial disease of claws in ruminants , particularly in sheep . In sheep in particular, the disease often takes a particularly severe course with severe pains in the claws. The mustard leg is associated with considerable economic damage in sheep farming, not only in Central Europe, but also in z. B. also in Great Britain, New Zealand and Australia. Sheep panaritium is caused by the bacterium Dichelobacter nodosus , and Fusobacterium necrophorum is also often involved as a secondary factor . The disease manifests itself in a purulent inflammation of the claws. The greasy, gray-white mass of the foci of pus on the diseased claws emits an unpleasant, putrid, sweet smell, which gave the disease its name (from modern and limp ).

causes

The pathogen Dichelobacter nodosus has a limited lifespan of around 14 days on pastures and in the ground, especially on moist soils of up to 42 days (under favorable conditions even up to 6 months), but in contaminated hoof material and in diseased claws for years, in some cases up to 3½ years.

The disease spreads to more and more animals by indirect transmission via the soil through contaminated pastures. The mustard leg is highly contagious and therefore leads to particularly rapid spread within the herd. A number of environmental factors also play a role here. The disease is strongly favored by moist soils in connection with inadequate hoof care. On the other hand, the animals' susceptibility to this disease is reduced both in hot, dry weather conditions and in very low temperatures. The breed of sheep also plays a role: In merino sheep , a significantly increased susceptibility to mold limbs was determined. B. Romney sheep are more resistant. Goats and cattle can be affected by other farm animals, but with milder forms. The mustard leg is also found in wild ruminants such as mouflon , chamois and ibex .

Clinical picture and diagnosis

The inflammation usually begins on just one foot in the interdigital gap and then spreads to the other limbs. In the further course, especially with malignant forms, there is a progressive undermining of the claw wall and the dissolution of the claw horn with a detachment of the wall and sole horn from the claw skin. In the area of ​​the detachment zone, under the loose horn, there is a foul-smelling gray-whitish mass as a product of the suppuration process . As a result of the extreme pain, there is lameness (support leg lameness).

In the advanced stage of the disease of the forelegs, the animals kneel while eating and sometimes also when moving on the forefoot joints (carpal joints) of the forelegs in order to relieve the claws of the pain. If the hind legs are sick, the hind legs are either relieved alternately (with the hind legs being protected) or the animals eat while lying down. An advanced detachment of the horn leads to shoing (detachment of the entire horn shoe). A flock of sheep in motion is followed by the sheep suffering from moderhinky limping and limping with a characteristic nod at the end. Severely ill animals sometimes walk on three legs. When the inflammation spreads to the claw joints, it becomes stuck. Other symptoms include emaciation of the affected sheep and lambs in the advanced stages of the decayed leg disease. The clinical diagnosis can be made on the basis of the characteristic changes in the claw horn and on the basis of the typical smell.

The disease can be classified using the moderate leg score :

  • Score 0: clinically healthy
  • Score 1: Between claw gap moist, reddened, hair loss
  • Score 2: extensive inflammation in the gap between the claws with a greasy coating, the horn on the edge of the inner claw wall slightly damaged
  • Score 3: clearly greasy surfaces in the gap between the claws, changed horn below the inner claw wall and in the area of ​​the sole
  • Score 4: extensive detachment of the horn over the sole to the outer wall of the claw with severe damage to the underlying tissue
  • Score 5: Shoing (removal of the entire claw horn from the claw)

Economic consequences

The soft leg leads to major economic damage in the affected herds due to production losses: reduced wool production in the affected sheep, emaciation of the adult sheep due to pain-related refusal to feed in the longer course of the disease, lower suckling performance, resulting in increased lamb losses and lower weight gain in lambs, caring for lambs with moderately ill. This results in lower profit margins for livestock farmers in wool, meat and milk marketing. To clean up large flocks of sheep, control programs have been successfully established in New Zealand, Australia and Switzerland. In Germany there is currently no state rehabilitation program (as of 2011).

treatment

Treatment of the limp is necessary for both economic and animal welfare reasons. The treatment steps include: Complete removal of the entire loosened claw horn and the purulent mass by cutting out, spraying the treated claws with an antibiotic wound spray and / or claw baths, general antibiotic treatment of seriously ill animals, separation of healthy from sick animals, follow-up and follow-up treatment at one-week intervals until the cure, vaccination.

First, the claws are carefully trimmed on a concrete surface or on a tarpaulin outside the stables. In the case of severely infected claws, the diseased areas must be removed as carefully as possible with a sharp knife or scalpel. Transport vehicles and claw knives that have not been disinfected can pose a risk to healthy animals as transmission is possible. Removed horn parts must be collected and burned or buried deep so that the healthy animals can no longer come into contact with them. The hoof correction is used, among other things, for diagnosis, and locally acting drugs can also be better used. Traditionally, the claws are bathed in formalin , zinc sulphate or copper sulphate solution for one minute if possible (claw bath). The zinc sulphate preparation Golden Hoof from England has official approval there for the control of moldy limbs without waiting for meat and milk. It is therefore a legal alternative to taking the footbath across the EU. Since December 2010, a biocide from the USA has been approved as a foot bath in Germany (Dragonhyde, T-HEXX Animal Health). Nowadays, locally applied antibiotics are often used (e.g. CTC blue spray ). Systemic antibiosis is also possible, also in combination with locally applied antibiotics. By using antibiotics, healing rates of more than 85% can be achieved even without prior claw treatment. The healthy animals must also be driven through a hoof bath for prevention. The animals must then be brought to a pasture that has not been used for at least six months in order to avoid re-infection of the irritated claws.

The mustard leg is a herd disease. The exclusive treatment of individual sick animals is therefore not sufficient. A herd remediation is necessary for the successful fight against the dead leg disease. An exemplary and successful system for the red leg remediation has been established in Switzerland. Consistent examinations and treatments according to a fixed scheme ensure that only sheep and goats that are free of mold limbs are alpine (see: Technical instructions for the mold remediation program of the Swiss Advisory and Health Service for Small Ruminants (BGK) from January 1, 2010). The basis here are, among other things, separation of the sick animals, cutting out the claws, claw bath and close-meshed controls. Large herds can also be rehabilitated using this method. Individual animals that do not respond adequately to treatment must be eradicated or at least strictly isolated. Based on the successful renovations in Australia, Switzerland, Bhutan and Nepal, it becomes clear that dead limp renovations are also possible across the board.

To clean up diseased herds, in addition to hoof care and treatment, vaccination is recommended (e.g. with Footvax ), because of strong vaccination reactions under the supervision of a veterinarian. The vaccination significantly lowers the infection pressure. However, vaccination alone is not enough for remediation. Currently, Footvax is the only commercial vaccine in Europe, Australia and New Zealand that is available as a prophylactic vaccine to protect against the dead limb or as a therapeutic vaccine for animals that are already sick (as of 2011). In addition, stock-specific vaccines may be manufactured in Germany, but these are not more effective than Footvax.

prevention

The prevention of soft limbs includes: secreting sick animals, regular hoof correction (cutting out the hoofs), regular hoof baths, systemic antibiosis, vaccination protection, resistance breeding, avoidance of drive paths and pastures of other herds, ballasting, draining or fencing of frequently used wet areas (e . near the stables) as well as several weeks of quarantine and isolation of purchased animals. As a precaution, newly purchased animals should be treated several times with the footbath described above.

Animal welfare issues

The mustard leg is a disease relevant to animal welfare because it is always associated with considerable pain, suffering and damage for the animals concerned. The inflammation-related irritation, degenerative transformation and damage to the particularly pain-sensitive claw leather skin (connected with the suppuration process and the detachment of the horn) causes extreme pain and consequent lameness with every step. As described above, sheep with diseased forelimbs kneel on the carpal joints of the forelegs in order to relieve the claws from the pain. This already marks an advanced stage of the disease, so that the inflammation-related pain has existed for a long time, and is highly relevant to animal welfare. As the deciduous leg disease progresses, the affected sheep move forward by sliding forward on the joints of the forelegs while kneeling due to pain.

Since the soft leg causes considerable suffering and pain in a herd for weeks and months, a passive, inactive waiting time when the disease occurs is not compatible with Section 2 of the Animal Welfare Act .

Even if no active torture is carried out, a sheep farmer who passively and consciously accepts the pain and suffering of his animals caused by the pain and suffering of his animals over a longer period of time is considered to be a criminal offense according to Section 17 No. 2b Animal Welfare Act (infliction of suffering or torture by failure to comply with the guarantee) . Failure to provide assistance by the animal owner is sufficient for a criminal liability, since he has a duty to guarantee the welfare of the animals. The driving along of the lame sheep, which are sick with limp, with the migrating herd additionally increases the severe pain of the affected animals. This is a criminal offense against § 17 No. 2b Animal Welfare Act through active, agonizing infliction of pain. In the case of migrating herds kept outdoors, the lame animals must therefore be removed from the herd and penned separately in a suitable place until they are healed.

For reasons of animal welfare and for economic reasons, the herd must be rehabilitated in the event of an infestation of limp, as otherwise the highly infectious disease will be continuously transmitted through the soil to the previously healthy animals and new animals will always fall ill in an animal welfare-relevant manner.

literature

  • Behrens, Heinrich: Animal welfare problems in sheep farming. In: German veterinary weekly. Year 98, 1991, Issue 1, ISSN  0341-6593 , pp. 26–28, here p. 27.
  • Behrens, Heinrich, Ganter, Martin, Hiepe, Theodor: Textbook of sheep diseases. 4th edition. Parey Buchverlag, Berlin 2001, ISBN 3-8263-3186-9 , pp. 234-237.
  • Recommendations for year-round and seasonal grazing of sheep. Edited by the Lower Saxony Animal Welfare Service. 3rd edition 2009, including Appendix 6: Treatment instructions for soft limbs and Appendix 7: Foot baths, pp. 66–69 ( PDF file; 3.4 MB ).
  • Ganter, Martin, Lottner, Sophia: Claw Diseases IV - Restore limbs consistently and successfully. In: German sheep breeding. Year 2004, issue 21, ISSN  0720-0862 , pp. 4–8.
  • Ganter, Martin, Winkelmann, Johannes: Color Atlas Sheep and Goat Diseases. Eugen Ulmer Verlag, Stuttgart 2008, ISBN 978-3-8001-5380-0 , pp. 97-100.
  • Deborah Greber: Sheep limp - new approaches to remediation. In: veterinär spiegel Volume 27, 2017, Issue 3, pp. 114–118, DOI: 10.1055 / s-0043-116456
  • Korn, Stanislaus von: Sheep in paddock and herding . Eugen Ulmer Verlag, Stuttgart 2001, ISBN 3-8001-3197-8 , pp. 184-185.
  • Kümper, Harald, Stumpf, Hans-Joachim: Moderhinke - An animal protection problem. In: Official veterinary service and food control. Volume 7, 2000, ISSN  0945-3296 , pp. 289-291.
  • Kümper, Harald, Stumpf, Hans-Joachim: Rothinke as an animal protection problem. In: Hartwig Bostedt (Ed.): 7th Conference on Sheep and Goat Diseases of the Section Diseases of Small Ruminants, Gießen May 12, 2000. German Veterinary Medicine Society, Gießen 2002, ISBN 3-935747-07-1 , pp. 1– 5 (on the veterinary, animal welfare and criminal law aspects of the limp on the basis of several court judgments).
  • Kümper, Harald: Mustache in sheep and goats . In: Veterinär-Spiegel 2008, ISSN  0940-8711 , issue 3, pp. 161-166.
  • Kuhlemann, Jaana: Epidemiology and control of the limp at the regional level. Diss. Hanover 2011 ( PDF file; 2.6 MB ).
  • Lottner, Sophia: Field study to control the mustard leg in sheep using vaccines and genetic markers. Dissertation Hannover 2006 ( PDF file; 1.3 MB ).
  • Schlolaut, Wolfgang, Wachendörfer, Günter: Handbook of sheep keeping. 5th edition. DLG-Verlag, Frankfurt (Main) 1992, ISBN 3-7690-0492-2 , pp. 286-288.
  • Strobel, Heinz: claw care sheep and goat. Basics, practice, limp. Eugen Ulmer Verlag, Stuttgart 2009, ISBN 978-3-8001-5851-5 , pp. 95-138.
  • Technical instructions for the limp rehabilitation program of the Swiss Advisory and Health Service for Small Ruminants (BGK) , version of January 1, 2010 ( PDF file; 0.1 MB ).
  • Winter, Agnes: Lameness in sheep. Crowood Press, Ramsbury, Marlborough 2004, ISBN 1-86126-721-5 .

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ On the previous chapter Lottner 2006, pp. 15–19, Kuhlemann 2011, pp. 1–4, 16–18, 22–23, 174, both with further references; Schlolaut / Wachendörfer 1992, pp. 286–287; Behrens / Ganter / Hiepe 2001, pp. 234–235; Winkelmann / Ganter 2008, pp. 98–99; Information sheet MODERHINKE .
  2. ↑ Schlolaut / Wachendörfer 1992, p. 287; Behrens / Ganter / Hiepe 2001, p. 234; Korn 2001, p. 184; Lottner 2006, pp. 21-25; Winkelmann / Ganter 2008, pp. 97–99; Kuhlemann 2011, pp. 7-16.
  3. ↑ a b Deborah Greber: Rothinke bei Schaf - new approaches to renovation. In: veterinär spiegel Volume 27, 2017, Issue 3, pp. 114–118, DOI: 10.1055 / s-0043-116456
  4. ↑ Lottner 2006, pp. 15-16; Technical instructions for the limp rehabilitation program of the Swiss Advisory and Health Service for Small Ruminants (BGK) from January 1, 2010; Kuhlemann 2011, pp. 1-4, 8-9.
  5. ↑ Information on Goldenhoof
  6. ↑ see in detail Ganter / Lottner 2004, pp. 4–8, with extensive practical relevance; as well as: Recommendations 2009, pp. 66–68, including current pharmaceutical law
  7. ↑ Technical instructions for the BGK's limp rehabilitation program ( Memento from March 4, 2016 in the Internet Archive )
  8. ↑ On the previous section on treatment: Schlolaut / Wachendörfer 1992, p. 288; Behrens / Ganter / Hiepe 2001, p. 235; Ganter / Lottner 2004, pp. 4–8; Lottner 2006, pp. 35-39; Kümper 2008, pp. 162-166; Winkelmann / Ganter 2008, p. 100; Recommendations 2009, pp. 66–68; Strobel 2009, pp. 79-87 and 106-138; Kuhlemann 2011, pp. 36-56.
  9. ↑ Kümper / Stumpf 2002, p. 3, Kümper 2008, p. 162, recommendations 2009, p. 66 and Kuhlemann 2011, p. 3.
  10. ↑ Korn 2001, p. 184 and Behrens / Ganter / Hiepe 2001, p. 234.
  11. ↑ Korn 2001, p. 184 and Recommendations 2009, p. 66.
  12. ↑ Kümper / Stumpf 2002, p. 3.
  13. ↑ Kümper / Stumpf 2000, pp. 290 and 291, Kümper / Stumpf 2002, pp. 3–4 and 5 (based on several court judgments) and Ganter / Lottner 2004, p. 4.
  14. ↑ Hans Georg Kluge (Ed.), Animal Welfare Act. Commentary, Kohlhammer-Verlag, Stuttgart 2002, here pp. 364–365 (Commentary on Section 17 Animal Welfare Act, paragraphs 101-109 on the position of guarantor of the animal owner, especially paragraphs 106 and 108: Insufficient care and neglect of animal care).
  15. ↑ Behrens 1991, p. 27.
  16. ↑ Kümper / Stumpf 2002, p. 4, Ganter / Lottner 2004, p. 5, Lottner 2006, p. 15.