24 NEBRASKA CATTLEMAN April/May 2025 PRODUCTION Hairy Heel Warts Digital dermatitis, also known as hairy heel warts, takes its toll in growing-finishing feedlot cattle. It reduces market weights and hot carcass weights in infected cattle, according to beef feedlot research conducted in commercial feedlots in Iowa and Illinois, where digital dermatitis is an endemic problem. The disease is a localized infection in the heel and area just above the hoof. It can occur quickly in a large number of animals, even though the initial infection may start several months prior. There are several bacteria that can be involved in this infection, but generally Treponema is the most common. This is a spirochete type of a bacteria that can bore deep into the skin and sets up an infection. The condition is managed or controlled, but I would not say the infection is ever cured. Active infections are usually controlled with the use of foot baths and feeding higher levels of zinc; feeding iodine also helps control the infection. The level of iodine in a cattle ration is highly regulated by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Work with your nutritionist to make sure you are following FDA guidelines regarding feeding iodine to feedlot cattle. In a general sense, this is a disease of sanitation. The organism grows in animalsʼ rumen and intestinal digesta and comes out into the environment when the calf defecates. The cleaner the pen, the less issue you will have with this condition. As cattle get heavier, this disease will tend to reappear in cattle that had the disease earlier in the feeding period. As cattle weights continue to increase, you will see more of this disease. Digital Dermatitis Impacts Beef Cattle Nutrition Digital dermatitis is a growing health and animal welfare concern in feedlots located in some geographic regions of the United States and Canada. Digital dermatitis may commonly be misdiagnosed as foot rot; however, treatment and prevention strategies are different. So, it is important that an accurate diagnosis be made as soon as possible to help reduce the diseaseʼs incidence and severity and its adverse effects. Digital dermatitis begins as lesions around the claw. They are raw, bright red or black circular erosions of the skin just above the heel bulbs. The edges form a white margin that surrounds sores or are adjacent to thick, hairy, wart-like growths. There are five stages of digital dermatitis, ranging from M1 (early/ subclinical) to M4.1 (chronically recurring). It starts to impact animal health at the M2 stage, which is the more painful, ulcerated lesion. The pain and chronic lameness from the M2 lesions are such that cattle are very reluctant to move. Theyʼll either stand longer or theyʼll lay down longer than their pen mates without M2 lesions. The result of this suppressed movement is that they do not get to the bunk as much as they normally would. Management Take biosecurity measures to prevent infected animals from being introduced into the feedyard. Animals coming out of a receiving yard should go through a foot bath when they enter the grow yard to reduce the potential of introducing the organism into the feedlot. Foot baths need to contain the correct solution of copper sulphate, and the footbath pH should not CHRIS ASHWORTH, DVM | GLOBAL VETERINARIAN AND
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