Farm- and host-level risk factors for papillomatous digital dermatitis in Chilean dairy cattle

A cross-sectional study was conducted in southern Chile between January and March, 1996, to identify risk factors for papillomatous digital dermatitis (PDD) in lactating dairy and dual-purpose cows. A total of 3,265 cows from 22 farms were examined in the milking parlor for PDD lesions. Additional information was collected from dairies' computerized records and by direct interview of managers. Data were analyzed using logistic and logistic-binomial regression (with dairy as a random-effect term). German Red-Pied (dual-purpose) cows were significantly (P < 0.05) less likely (odds ratio (OR) = 0.3) to have PDD lesions than German Black-Pied and Holstein crossbreds. First-parity cows had the highest odds of PDD, and odds diminished, in a dose-effect manner, as parity increased. Odds of PDD increased with increasing days in lactation. Cows that calved during winter were more likely to have PDD (OR = 1.4) than those calving at any other season. Cows on farms that bought heifers in the past 10 years had a 3-fold increase in the odds of PDD compared to those on farms that never bought heifers. Loose-housed cows had a higher risk of PDD (OR = 7), followed by cows in free stalls or in open corrals (OR = 2.8 and 1.3, respectively), compared to cows on pasture all year. Cows on dairies that used a footbath during 1996 were less likely (OR = 0.3) to have PDD than those in dairies not using one. Parlor type was associated with PDD, but this was likely an effect of parlor design on ease of inspection of cows' feet. A policy of trimming all cows' vs. only lame cows' feet and a policy about buying adult cows did not have significant effects on PDD risk.