Footbathing in the Management of Papillomatous Digital Dermatitis

Papillomatous digital dermatitis (PDD), or hairy heel warts, continues to be a growing problem among the nation's dairies, and the corresponding profit loss associated with the disease continues to rise. While much of the work to date has focused on the treatment of lesions in lame animals, minimal investigation has been done on pro-active approaches to controlling the spread of PDD. Footbathing is the most commonly used method in the attempt to prevent hairy warts. Often it is used with solutions containing antibiotics, copper sulfate or formaldehyde. Concern has been expressed about the use of such products and the health and environmental consequences of farmers disposing large amounts of these residues into watercourses after treatment. The objective of this study is to evaluate the efficacy of a novel, non-antibiotic compound in controlling papillomatous digital dermatitis when used in a footbath application.