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Roelofs L, Frössling J, Rosander A, Bjerketorp J, Belaghi RA, Hansson I, Frosth S. Digital dermatitis in Swedish dairy herds assessed by ELISA targeting Treponema phagedenis in bulk tank milk. BMC Vet Res 2024; 20:168. [PMID: 38698418 PMCID: PMC11064309 DOI: 10.1186/s12917-024-04021-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/04/2023] [Accepted: 04/17/2024] [Indexed: 05/05/2024] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Digital dermatitis (DD) is a contagious hoof infection affecting cattle worldwide. The disease causes lameness and a reduction in animal welfare, which ultimately leads to major decreases in milk production in dairy cattle. The disease is most likely of polymicrobial origin with Treponema phagedenis and other Treponema spp. playing a key role; however, the etiology is not fully understood. Diagnosis of the disease is based on visual assessment of the feet by trained hoof-trimmers and veterinarians, as a more reliable diagnostic method is lacking. The aim of this study was to evaluate the use of an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) on bulk tank milk samples testing for the presence of T. phagedenis antibodies as a proxy to assess herd prevalence of DD in Swedish dairy cattle herds. RESULTS Bulk tank milk samples were collected in 2013 from 612 dairy herds spread across Sweden. A nationwide DD apparent prevalence of 11.9% (8.1-14.4% CI95%) was found, with the highest proportion of test-positive herds in the South Swedish regions (31.3%; 19.9-42.4% CI95%). CONCLUSIONS This study reveals an underestimation of DD prevalence based on test results compared to hoof trimming data, highlighting the critical need for a reliable and accurate diagnostic method. Such a method is essential for disease monitoring and the development of effective control strategies. The novelty of ELISA-based diagnostic methods for DD, coupled with the disease's polymicrobial origin, suggests an avenue for improvement. Developing an expanded ELISA, incorporating antigens from various bacterial species implicated in the disease, could enhance diagnostic accuracy. The significance of this study is underscored by the extensive analysis of a substantial sample size (612). Notably, this investigation stands as the largest assessment to date, evaluating the application of ELISA on bulk tank milk for DD diagnosis at the herd level.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lex Roelofs
- Department of Animal Biosciences, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine and Animal Science, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences (SLU), P.O. Box 7023, Uppsala, 750 07, Sweden.
| | - Jenny Frössling
- Department of Animal Environment and Health, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences (SLU), P.O. Box 234, Skara, 532 23, Sweden
- Department of Epidemiology, Surveillance and Risk Assessment, Swedish Veterinary Agency (SVA), Uppsala, 751 89, Sweden
| | - Anna Rosander
- Department of Animal Biosciences, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine and Animal Science, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences (SLU), P.O. Box 7023, Uppsala, 750 07, Sweden
| | - Joakim Bjerketorp
- Department of Animal Biosciences, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine and Animal Science, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences (SLU), P.O. Box 7023, Uppsala, 750 07, Sweden
| | - Reza Arabi Belaghi
- Department of Energy and Technology, Unit of Applied Statistics and Mathematics, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences (SLU), P.O. Box 7032, Uppsala, 750 07, Sweden
| | - Ingrid Hansson
- Department of Animal Biosciences, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine and Animal Science, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences (SLU), P.O. Box 7023, Uppsala, 750 07, Sweden
| | - Sara Frosth
- Department of Animal Biosciences, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine and Animal Science, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences (SLU), P.O. Box 7023, Uppsala, 750 07, Sweden
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Frosth S, Eriksson HK, Rosander A. Development of a multiplex quantitative PCR assay for simultaneous detection of Treponema phagedenis, Treponema pedis, Treponema medium, and 'Treponema vincentii' and evaluation on bovine digital dermatitis biopsies. Vet Res Commun 2023; 47:1937-1947. [PMID: 37261642 PMCID: PMC10232342 DOI: 10.1007/s11259-023-10147-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/22/2023] [Accepted: 05/27/2023] [Indexed: 06/02/2023]
Abstract
Bovine digital dermatitis (BDD) is a contagious foot disease with worldwide occurrence in dairy cattle. The disease causes lameness and reduced animal welfare as well as economic losses for the farmer. The aetiology is not fully established but associations have been made with Treponema spp. Today, BDD diagnosis is mainly based on visual inspection of cattle feet, therefore this study aimed to develop a multiplex quantitative PCR (qPCR) assay targeting Treponema phagedenis, Treponema pedis, Treponema medium, and 'Treponema vincentii' to aid in diagnosis. The assay was tested for specificity on 53 bacterial strains and in silico on 168 Treponema spp. genomes, representative of at least 24 species. In addition, 37 BDD biopsies were analysed and the results compared to another qPCR assay published during the study period, which we modified by combining into a multiplex qPCR. The qPCR developed herein had a detection limit of 10 copies of each target species per PCR reaction. Both qPCR assays showed 100% specificity when tested on bacterial strains, but the qPCR developed in this study detected 3.4% more T. phagedenis-positive biopsies of lesion category M1-M4.1 than the modified assay. To conclude, the developed qPCR assay detecting T. phagedenis, T. pedis, T. medium, and 'T. vincentii' has high analytical sensitivity and specificity and provides a useful complementary tool for diagnosis and epidemiological studies of BDD. The assay could possibly also be used for contagious ovine digital dermatitis (CODD) as similar bacteriological profiles have been suggested for BDD and CODD, especially regarding certain Treponema spp.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sara Frosth
- Department of Biomedical Sciences and Veterinary Public Health, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine and Animal Science, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences (SLU), P.O. Box 7036, Uppsala, 750 07, Sweden.
| | - Hanna K Eriksson
- Department of Animal Nutrition and Management, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine and Animal Science, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences (SLU), P.O. Box 7024, Uppsala, 750 07, Sweden
| | - Anna Rosander
- Department of Biomedical Sciences and Veterinary Public Health, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine and Animal Science, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences (SLU), P.O. Box 7036, Uppsala, 750 07, Sweden
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Holzhauer M, Mars J, Holstege M, van der Heijden H. An In-House ELISA for Treponema Antibodies in Bulk Milk as Part of a Monitoring Tool for Claw Health in Dairy Herds. Vet Sci 2023; 10:571. [PMID: 37756093 PMCID: PMC10537149 DOI: 10.3390/vetsci10090571] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/17/2023] [Revised: 08/02/2023] [Accepted: 08/31/2023] [Indexed: 09/28/2023] Open
Abstract
Digital dermatitis (DD) is a painful inflammation at the coronary band of the claws, a major cause of lameness in cattle and associated with infections with several Treponema spp. Clinical inspection of the feet is the best way to diagnose DD, but this is laborious and stressful for cattle. A simple diagnostic tool was developed to monitor DD prevalence at the herd level. An antibody ELISA based on antigens from four different Treponema spp. has been developed and validated in two field studies. In one study, bulk milk and individual milk samples of seven dairy herds, of which clinical claw scores were obtained, were tested. In the second study, bulk milk was tested from 110 herds of which clinical scores were obtained. A weak correlation between clinical scores of cows and the ELISA results in individual milk samples was observed. The ELISA response in bulk milk was higher in herds with higher mean clinical scores. Using the ELISA results in bulk milk, herds with a low or high proportion of cattle with DD lesions could be distinguished. This ELISA is useful to obtain insight into the DD status at the herd level, and is nowadays being used in a claw health monitoring program for dairy cattle in the Netherlands.
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Affiliation(s)
- Menno Holzhauer
- Bovine Health Department, Royal GD Animal Health, P.O. Box 9 7400 AA Deventer, The Netherlands
| | - Jet Mars
- R&D Department, Laboratory, Royal GD Animal Health, P.O. Box 9 7400 AA Deventer, The Netherlands
| | - Manon Holstege
- Epidemiology and Statistics Department, Royal GD Animal Health, P.O. Box 9 7400 AA Deventer, The Netherlands
| | - Harold van der Heijden
- R&D Department, Laboratory, Royal GD Animal Health, P.O. Box 9 7400 AA Deventer, The Netherlands
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Vermeersch AS, Geldhof P, Ducatelle R, Gansemans Y, Van Nieuwerburgh F, Deforce D, Opsomer G. Continuous activation of the IL-17F driven inflammatory pathway in acute and chronic digital dermatitis lesions in dairy cattle. Sci Rep 2022; 12:14070. [PMID: 35982087 PMCID: PMC9388621 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-022-17111-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/01/2022] [Accepted: 07/20/2022] [Indexed: 11/09/2022] Open
Abstract
Objectives of the present study were to get a deeper insight into the course of the inflammatory pathways of digital dermatitis lesions in dairy cattle by investigating the gene expression patterns throughout the different clinical stages (M0 to M4.1) of the disease. Normal skin samples (M0) were used as a reference for comparing the gene expression levels in the other M-stages through RNA Seq-technology. Principal component analysis revealed a distinct gene expression pattern associated with digital dermatitis lesions in comparison to healthy skin with a further clustering of the acute M1, M2 and M4.1 stages versus the chronic M3 and M4 stages. The majority of the up-and downregulated genes in the acute and chronic stages can be placed into a common 'core' set of genes involved in inflammation, such as A2ML1, PI3, CCL11 and elafin-like protein, whereas the most downregulated genes included keratins and anti-inflammatory molecules such as SCGB1D and MGC151921. Pathway analysis indicated the activation of the pro-inflammatory IL-17 signaling pathway in all the M stages through the upregulation of IL-17F. These results indicate that digital dermatitis is associated with an excessive inflammatory immune response concomitant with a disrupted skin barrier and impaired wound repair mechanism. Importantly, despite their macroscopically healed appearance, a significant inflammatory response (Padj < 0.05) was still measurable in the M3 and M4 lesions, potentially explaining the frequent re-activation of such lesions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anne-Sofie Vermeersch
- Department of Internal Medicine, Reproduction and Population Medicine, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Ghent University, 9820, Merelbeke, Belgium
| | - Peter Geldhof
- Department of Translational Physiology, Infectiology and Public Health, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Ghent University, 9820, Merelbeke, Belgium
| | - Richard Ducatelle
- Department of Pathobiology, Pharmacology and Zoological Medicine, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Ghent University, 9820, Merelbeke, Belgium
| | - Yannick Gansemans
- Laboratory of Pharmaceutical Biotechnology, Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Ghent University, 9000, Ghent, Belgium
| | - Filip Van Nieuwerburgh
- Laboratory of Pharmaceutical Biotechnology, Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Ghent University, 9000, Ghent, Belgium
| | - Dieter Deforce
- Laboratory of Pharmaceutical Biotechnology, Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Ghent University, 9000, Ghent, Belgium
| | - Geert Opsomer
- Department of Internal Medicine, Reproduction and Population Medicine, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Ghent University, 9820, Merelbeke, Belgium.
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