Dichelobacter nodosus is the causal agent of ovine footrot, a contagious disease of welfare and economic concern worldwide. Damaged feet may be subclinical carriers of D. nodosus and covertly spread infection. Accordingly, we evaluated the risk of misshapen and damaged feet on D. nodosus presence and load in four commercial UK sheep flocks. Foot-level observations and swabs (n = 972) were collected from ewes (n = 85) over 12 months. On average, ewes were sampled three times. Feet were inspected for disease and scored (good/poor) for three hoof conformation traits (sole and heel, wall, and wall overgrowth). Swabs were analysed for presence and load of D. nodosus, and mixed models were constructed. Poor hoof conformation traits were present in 92.5% of foot-level observations. Feet with poor sole and heel conformation were more likely to have higher D. nodosus loads (β = 0.19, 95% CI: 0.04–0.35) than those with good conformation. Furthermore, on feet positive for D. nodosus, wall overgrowth was associated with higher D. nodosus loads (β = 0.27, 95% CI: 0.01–0.52). Feet with aspects of poor conformation covertly harbour D. nodosus and are a source of infection. Flock management should be guided by hoof conformation to reduce disease challenge.

中文翻译：

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鼻中双歧杆菌和绵羊脚受损的特征：对四只英国羊群的纵向研究

结节双歧杆菌是绵羊脚腐病的病原体，是世界范围内一种引起福利和经济关注的传染性疾病。受损的脚可能是结节梭菌的亚临床携带者并秘密传播感染。因此，我们评估了英国的四只商业羊群中诺氏梭菌存在和负载时脚变形和受损的风险。在12个月内从母羊（n = 85）中收集了足部水平的观察和拭子（n = 972）。平均而言，母羊被采样了三次。检查脚的疾病，并为三个蹄形特征（鞋底和脚跟，墙壁和墙壁过度生长）打分（好/差）。分析拭子中是否存在诺氏梭菌和负荷，并构建了混合模型。92.5％的脚部水平观察结果显示不良的蹄形特征。足底和足跟构造不良的脚比良好形态的脚更有可能有更高的结节杆菌负荷（β= 0.19，95％CI：0.04-0.35）。此外，在结节杆菌阳性的脚上，壁过度生长与结节杆菌负荷较高有关（β= 0.27，95％CI：0.01-0.52）。具有不良构象的脚隐蔽地藏有结节杜鹃（D. nodosus），并且是感染的来源。羊群管理应以蹄的形态为指导，以减少疾病的侵害。