Abstract
Lameness in sheep is a global health, welfare and economic concern. White line disease (WLD), also known as shelly hoof, is a prevalent, non-infectious cause of lameness, characterised by the breakdown of the white line. Little is known about the predisposing factors, nor the individual disease dynamics over time. Our exploratory study aimed to investigate the prevalence and temporal dynamics of WLD, and the associated risk factors. Feet of 400 ewes from four UK commercial sheep farms were inspected for WLD at four time points across 12 months. The change in WLD state at foot-level (develop or recover) was calculated for three transition periods. We present WLD to be widespread, affecting 46.8% of foot-level and 76.6% of sheep-level observations. States in WLD changed over time, with feet readily developing and recovering from WLD within the study period. The presence of WLD at foot-level, the number of feet affected at sheep-level and dynamics in development and recovery were driven by a variety of foot-, sheep- and farm-level factors. We provide key insight into the multifaceted aetiology of WLD and corroborate previous studies demonstrating its multifactorial nature. Our study highlights an opportunity to reduce WLD prevalence and informs hypotheses for future prospective studies.
Highlights
Lameness in sheep is a major health and welfare issue affecting >90% of UK flocks [1,2]
Frequency of White line disease (WLD) was highest in feet of sheep on Farm D, but lowest in feet of sheep on Farm C (p < 0.001)
Whilst we considered the use of a simplified, binary scoring system as optimal in exploring the prevalence and dynamics of WLD, scoring lesion severity could provide further insight into the pathogenesis of early and advanced lesions
Summary
Lameness in sheep is a major health and welfare issue affecting >90% of UK flocks [1,2]. Lame sheep are in pain [3] and have compromised productivity [4]. Lameness is estimated to cost the UK sheep industry between £24 to £80 million per year in related costs and production losses [4,5]. Lameness in sheep can be attributed to infectious or non-infectious origins. The major infectious lameness type, footrot (FR), is caused by the bacterium Dichelobacter nodosus, and has two clinical presentations, interdigital dermatitis (ID) and severe footrot (SFR), which accounts for approximately 70% of lameness and affects around 95% of English flocks [6]. Contagious ovine digital dermatitis (CODD) is another infectious foot disease of concern, caused by Treponema bacteria, and affects approximately 50% of UK flocks [7,8]
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
