Treatment and Control of Claw Diseases

To be asked to present a state-of-the-art lecture on treatment and control of claw diseases is indeed an honour and a challenge. The past decade has seen many advances in the understanding of pathogenic processes leading to diseases of the digit of cattle and the resulting information has suggested new avenues for treatment and control which may be used to supplement our existing methodologies. I believe we have come a long way from the time when our only option in the handling of bovine digital diseases was to treat "Footrot" with systemic antibiotics or by amputation although these two methods still have a place in the armamentarium of the bovine practitioner today. Armed with a better understanding of anatomy and physiology of the ...