A new analysis of the direct costs of footrot in sheep by FAI Farms based in Oxford shows that treatment and labour inputs alone are as much as £8.38/ewe. The headline treatment and labour costs are significant enough, but these do not include the knock-on financial penalties caused by this painful condition.   To minimise the costs of lameness and its adverse effect on animal welfare, FAI Farms, with the support of Intervet/Schering-Plough Animal Health is now two years into a three-year programme assessing the effectiveness of a new footrot control protocol.
 
The new protocol is highly practical and the focus is on prevention.   It involves culling persistent offenders, improved biosecurity and Footvax™ vaccination bi-annually. Over the last 12 months, the organisation has seen a 90% reduction in lameness problems, so is delighted with the potential direct cost savings.   For footrot control, vaccination as part of an overall management programme provides effective treatment for infected sheep, as well as long-term protection against the onset of the disease. The Footvax™ vaccine allows the sheep to build immunity to Dichelobacter nodusus – the key bacterium implicated in the disease. Unfortunately, unvaccinated sheep do not produce an antibody response to this bacterium, which means they will always remain susceptible to the disease.