Treatment of virulent footrot with lincomycin and spectinomycin

A mixture of lincomycin and spectinomycin was investigated as a treatment for footrot in sheep. In a controlled clinical trial 92.5% of acute and chronic cases of virulent footrot were cured following a single intramuscular injection of a mixture containing 50 mg lincomycin and 100 mg spectinomycin/ml at a dose rate of 1 ml/10 kg bodyweight. No improvement in clinical response was observed in groups of sheep treated on 3 successive days with this dose rate nor in another group treated once at a dose rate 1 ml/3.3 kg bodyweight. Cure effectiveness of each of the 3 treatment groups relative to untreated controls was 89%, 95% and 95%. Efficacy of lincomycin/spectinomycin was compared with that of penicillin/streptomycin in the treatment of footrot on 2 farms in south western New South Wales. Assessments made 14 to 17 d after treatment showed that on one farm all 122 ewes treated with lincomycin/spectinomycin had recovered while 170 of 175 ewes treated with penicillin/streptomycin recovered in the same period. On the second farm 87 of 90 ewes treated with lincomycin/spectinomycin recovered, compared with 184 of 190 sheep in the same flock treated with penicillin/streptomycin. Supportive footbathing did not seem to improve the clinical response in either treatment group and the paring done was sufficient only to establish diagnosis and to remove grossly overgrown horn.