Udder cleft dermatitis; a longitudinal study with focus on parity, days in milk and production level.

Abstract

and their veterinarians it is still a relatively new and not well described subject in literature. UCD is an ulcerative, moist and exudative dermatitis. It is distinguished from other udder dermatitis diseases mainly by its location, at the cranial part of the udder and medial between the front two halves. A few recent studies have investigated the prevalence of UCD and some possible risk factors. Still there is relatively little known about pathogenesis, the clinical course, duration and risk factors. The aim of this study was to examine if the occurrence and duration of an UCD infection were correlated to the following cow factors: parity, DIM and production level. For this aim dairy herds known to have a high UCD prevalence were selected. Cows with UCD in these herds were identified and followed in time (6 months). A total of 224 cows were photographed and obtained in the database and eventually 3107 photos were shot. During the study period, 130 cows suffered from UCD, as defined in this study. A number of 73 cows already had UCD during the first visit and the other 58 developed de disease during this study. The remaining 92 cows did not have an open wound and were therefore not diagnosed with UCD. Higher-parity (criteria > 3) seemed to be correlated with the occurrence of UCD. Looking at the results of the DIM, cows are more likely to develop UCD beneath 60 DIM. The link of UCD occurrence and the duration of the disease with the production level is not clear yet.