Aetiology of caprine footrot in Extremadura region, Spain

The present study reports on the location of major foci of footrot in goats in the Extremadura region of Spain by the determination of locally occurring strictly anaerobic microorganisms involved in the pathogenesis and development of this disease. The most commonly isolated microorganisms belonged to the genera Dichelobacter, Fusobacterium, Porphyromonas and Prevotella; these were found in conjunction with other species of minor importance. The species most frequently isolated were Fusobacterium necrophorum (40%), Dichelobacter nodosus (31.7%), Porphyromonas asaccharolytica (21.1%) and Prevotella melaninogenica (12.9%). Virulence factors identified in the isolated microorganisms included haemolysins, elastases and lecithinases, which enabled the organisms involved to initiate and/or aggravate the disease. Serotyping was performed for Dichelobacter nodosus isolates, since this species is responsible for triggering the process of infection. A and C were the most frequently isolated serovarieties (representing 40.7% and 25.9% of the cases, respectively).