Whole-flock, metaphylactic tilmicosin failed to eliminate contagious ovine digital dermatitis and footrot in sheep: a cluster randomised trial

Angell, JW, Grove-White, DH ORCID: 0000-0002-5969-5535, Williams, HJ ORCID: 0000-0003-0846-7329 and Duncan, JS ORCID: 0000-0002-1370-3085 (2016) Whole-flock, metaphylactic tilmicosin failed to eliminate contagious ovine digital dermatitis and footrot in sheep: a cluster randomised trial. Veterinary Record, 179 (12). 308-U44.

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Abstract

The aim of this study was to evaluate the clinical success of whole-flock systemic tilmicosin and enhanced biosecurity in eliminating active contagious ovine digital dermatitis (CODD) from sheep flocks. Thirty flocks in the UK were randomly allocated to receive either treatment as usual (as per the farmer's normal routine) or whole-flock treatment with tilmicosin, together with isolation and extended treatment of clinically affected individuals and isolation and treatment of purchased sheep during the study period. All flocks were visited once at onset of the trial to examine all sheep. One year later, all sheep were re-examined to determine the presence/absence of clinical lesions. The primary outcome was the clinical elimination of CODD from flocks. Secondary outcomes were reduction in prevalence of CODD, clinical elimination of footrot and reduction in prevalence of footrot. The analysis included 11 control flocks and 13 intervention flocks, with initially 3460 and 4686 sheep, respectively. For CODD: at follow-up, in the intervention group, 6/13 (46 per cent) flocks had a prevalence of zero compared with 1/11 (9 per cent) in the control group (P=0.12). For footrot: at follow-up, no flocks had a prevalence of zero. Therefore, the intervention is not recommended for the elimination of CODD or footrot in the UK.

Item Type:	Article
Uncontrolled Keywords:	Animals, Sheep, Foot Rot, Sheep Diseases, Tylosin, Anti-Bacterial Agents, Treatment Outcome, Cluster Analysis, Digital Dermatitis, United Kingdom
Depositing User:	Symplectic Admin
Date Deposited:	25 Jul 2016 09:25
Last Modified:	19 Jan 2023 07:33
DOI:	10.1136/vr.103625
Open Access URL:	http://veterinaryrecord.bmj.com/content/early/2016...
Related URLs:	Author Publisher
URI:	https://livrepository.liverpool.ac.uk/id/eprint/3002499