Factors associated with the evolution of digit health in Swiss dairy herds in a nationwide digit health program.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the evolution of digit health (DH) on Swiss dairy farms participating in a nationwide DH program and to identify risk factors associated with poor DH. Specially trained claw trimmers recorded disorders of the digits (DOD) electronically during routine trimmings between January 2020 and June 2023. The first part of the study was a non-randomized controlled implementation study, comparing the evolution of DH in 75 herds that received professional on-farm risk assessments as well as veterinary advice with 49 herds that did not.

[Implementation of biosecurity measures by hoof trimmers in Switzerland].

Biosecurity in livestock farming includes all measures preventing pathogen introduction onto a farm (external biosecurity) and pathogen transmission on the farm itself (internal biosecurity). An important risk factor for the dissemination of infectious diseases are specialised external persons working on numerous farms, such as professional hoof trimmers in Switzerland. In the present study, 49 hoof trimmers, participating in the Swiss claw health programme and working as professionals, were questioned regarding their biosecurity measures and observed by two veterinarians during hoof trimming in order to assess the implementation of biosecurity measures by hoof trimmers.

Farm-level risk factors for digital dermatitis in dairy cows in mountainous regions.

Reduction of risk factors for bovine digital dermatitis (BDD) is crucial in current disease control. However, risk factors that might arise especially in mountainous regions are unknown until now, and an adapted BDD control program is consequently missing. The objective of this observational case-control study was to identify farm-level risk factors for BDD in dairy herds in mountainous regions.

The Mitochondrial Epigenome: An Unexplored Avenue to Explain Unexplained Myopathies?

Mutations in either mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) or nuclear genes that encode mitochondrial proteins may lead to dysfunctional mitochondria, giving rise to mitochondrial diseases. Some mitochondrial myopathies, however, present without a known underlying cause. Interestingly, methylation of mtDNA has been associated with various clinical pathologies.