Digital dermatitis in Swedish dairy herds assessed by ELISA targeting Treponema phagedenis in bulk tank milk.
Authors: Roelofs Lex, Frössling Jenny, Rosander Anna, Bjerketorp Joakim, Belaghi Reza Arabi, Hansson Ingrid, Frosth Sara
Journal: BMC veterinary research
Summary
Digital dermatitis represents a significant welfare and production concern in dairy cattle, yet reliable herd-level diagnostics remain elusive, with current assessment depending on trained personnel conducting visual examination of individual feet. Roelofs and colleagues evaluated whether bulk tank milk ELISA testing for Treponema phagedenis antibodies could serve as a practical proxy for assessing herd prevalence across Swedish dairy operations, offering an alternative to labour-intensive and subjective visual appraisal. Whilst the paper does not specify sensitivity and specificity figures in the abstract, the approach targets T. phagedenis—recognised as a primary pathogen in what is likely a polymicrobial infection—through convenient milk sampling rather than individual animal inspection. For practitioners managing large herds, a validated bulk tank screening method could streamline herd health monitoring, enabling earlier intervention before lameness becomes clinically evident and production losses mount. This work addresses a genuine gap in equine and cattle practice: objective, scalable diagnostics that move beyond visual scoring and facilitate targeted biosecurity measures when treponeme burden is high.
Read the full abstract on PubMed
Practical Takeaways
- •Bulk tank milk ELISA could provide a practical, herd-level screening tool for digital dermatitis without requiring individual foot examinations of all animals
- •Understanding that digital dermatitis involves multiple pathogens reinforces the need for comprehensive treatment and environmental management strategies beyond single-pathogen approaches
- •This non-invasive diagnostic method could help identify affected herds earlier and monitor treatment efficacy more objectively than visual assessment alone
Key Findings
- •ELISA testing for Treponema phagedenis antibodies in bulk tank milk can serve as a proxy for assessing herd-level digital dermatitis prevalence in dairy cattle
- •Digital dermatitis is polymicrobial in origin with T. phagedenis playing a key role in disease pathogenesis
- •Current diagnosis relies on visual assessment by trained professionals, indicating need for more reliable diagnostic methods