Infectious Diseases of the Bovine Claw

The following diseases will be discussed in this paper: interdigital phlegmon, interdigital dermatitis, heel horn erosion, and (papillomatous) digital dermatitis. They will be discussed as separate diseases for academic convenience although there has been considerable discussion about whether interdigital dermatitis and digital dermatitis are different manifestations of the same disease and also whether interdigital dermatitis and heel horn erosion are the same disease. In fact, one of the regular participants in this symposium has suggested that we call digital dermatitis, interdigital dermatitis, and heel horn erosion: digital skin disorder syndrome.(Bargai, 1998) There is ample evidence that these diseases occur under the same conditions, i.e. poor foot hygiene ...