Abstract #511
Section: Animal Health
Session: Animal Health: Beef cattle health, lameness & mastitis
Format: Oral
Day/Time: Tuesday 3:45 PM–4:00 PM
Location: Sebastian I-2
Session: Animal Health: Beef cattle health, lameness & mastitis
Format: Oral
Day/Time: Tuesday 3:45 PM–4:00 PM
Location: Sebastian I-2
# 511
Comparing the prevalence of hoof lesions in dairy cattle classified as high, average or low antibody and cell-mediated immune responders.
Shannon L. Cartwright*1, Kathleen Thompson-Crispi1,2, Marlene Paibomesai1, Filippo Miglior2,3, Bonnie Mallard1,2, 1Department of Pathobiology, University of Guelph, Guelph, ON, Canada, 2Center of Genetic Improvement of Livestock, University of Guelph, Guelph, ON, Canada, 3Canadian Dairy Network, Guelph, ON, Canada.
Key Words: hoof health, immune response, dairy cattle
Comparing the prevalence of hoof lesions in dairy cattle classified as high, average or low antibody and cell-mediated immune responders.
Shannon L. Cartwright*1, Kathleen Thompson-Crispi1,2, Marlene Paibomesai1, Filippo Miglior2,3, Bonnie Mallard1,2, 1Department of Pathobiology, University of Guelph, Guelph, ON, Canada, 2Center of Genetic Improvement of Livestock, University of Guelph, Guelph, ON, Canada, 3Canadian Dairy Network, Guelph, ON, Canada.
Several studies have shown cattle classified as high immune responders have lower incidence of disease, however the occurrence of hoof lesions has yet to be evaluated in dairy cattle classified for immune response. Therefore the objective of this study was to compare the prevalence of hoof lesions in dairy cattle classified as high, average or low antibody (AMIR) and cell-mediated immune responders (CMIR). Cattle (n = 190) from a commercial dairy farm in Ontario were evaluated for immune response (IR) using a patented protocol that captures both AMIR and CMIR. They were classified as high, average and low responders based on Estimated Breeding Values for AMIR and CMIR. Hoof health data was collected by the farm’s hoof trimmer using Hoof Supervisor software. Only the first trim date for each animal was included in this data set, and multiple lesions per cow were considered. All lesions were analyzed both as individual lesion types and grouped into infectious (digital dermatitis) and horn (sole hemorrhage, sole ulcer, toe ulcer, interdigital hyperplasia and white line). The trimmer scored each lesion for severity as: 1 = least, 2 = middle, 3 = most. Data was analyzed using a SAS mixed model, which included the effects of parity and IR category (high, average and low). Data is presented as number of cases per cows within IR category, and significance is reported at P < 0.05 with trends at P < 0.10. Results showed that high antibody responders had significantly less digital dermatitis (20%) compared with average (36%) and similarly significantly less severe digital dermatitis (3%) compared with low (16%). Conversely, high antibody responders (50%) had significantly more non-infectious horn lesions compared with average (25%) and low (21%). High cell-mediated responders had a trend toward less interdigital hyperplasia (0%) compared with average (8%). Therefore, not only do cows classified as high immune responders have lower disease incidence, but this study suggests they also have lower prevalence of infectious hoof lesions, a critical problem facing dairy producers.
Key Words: hoof health, immune response, dairy cattle
