Page number 1

Reprint from issue 9/23 Spraying Mortellaro away Consistent treatment and prevention measures can effectively control Mortellaro's disease. A field trial shows how a hoof care product can help. KEEPING IT BRIEF Mortellaro is one of the most widespread hoof diseases in cattle. Therapy and regular checks reduce the number of acute infectious incidents. Bathing the hoofs in water and apply- ing a hoof care product reduce the num- ber of relapses. OUR AUTHOR Dr Andrea Fiedler, joint veterinary prac- tice for hoof health, Munich M ortellaro's disease presents itself in open, red and painful lesions on cow hooves. Within a few weeks, they develop from very small sores of a few millimetres in size to ul- cers the size of a coin or a child's fist. Developing wart- or berry-like ulcers (see page R 24), the disease is sadly a familiar issue on most dairy farms. Photo: Gierse-Westermeier △ Digital dermatitis causes lameness and, depending on the severity of the case, even serious lameness. A ONE-YEAR EXPERIMENT A field trial was set up to explore the question, whether it makes a difference to wash cow hooves in the milking par- lour twice a week or spray them addi- tionally with a hoof care product. For this purpose, a team of veterinarians se- lected the product HooFoss from Vilo-