An outbreak of ischaemic teat necrosis in a dairy herd in Taranaki, New Zealand.

N Z Vet J

Tāwharau Ora - School of Veterinary Sciences, Massey University, Palmerston North, New Zealand.

Published: November 2024

AI Article Synopsis

  • In spring 2021, 12 first-calving heifers on a Taranaki dairy farm developed severe skin lesions on their teats, leading to varied outcomes: 8 cows recovered while 4 were culled, with two requiring surgical intervention.
  • The lesions started as crusty scabs and progressed to thick, dead tissue, causing inflammation without milk leakage or odor; diagnostic tests excluded several viral causes.
  • The condition was diagnosed as ischaemic teat necrosis (ITN), resembling a novel disease previously reported in the UK, with additional cases appearing on the same farm in the following years.

Article Abstract

Case History: In spring 2021, on a seasonally calving, pastorally based, Taranaki dairy farm, 12 first-calving heifers (≤ 30 days post-calving) developed similar dry, red to black, crusting lesions on the medial aspect of the teat udder junction extending down the medial teat. Some cows had multiple teats affected. Treatment was initially unrewarding and did not slow the progression of the disease. Overall, 8/12 cows recovered, and 4/12 cows were culled, with three of the cows culled after a teat sloughed and the fourth after surgical amputation of a teat. Outbreaks of the same condition, on the same farm but affecting fewer animals, occurred in spring 2022 (n = 6) and spring 2023 (n = 3).

Clinical Findings: An initial scab-like or crusting lesion progressed to resemble a thick eschar consisting of very dry and hard dead tissue. The unaffected areas of the teat felt normal but immediately under the dead tissue, there was a warm, firmer area consistent with an inflammatory reaction. Removing the scab led to profuse bleeding, with no visible bed of granulation underneath the scab. There was no leaking of milk in those cows that lost a teat, and no smell to the lesions themselves. Serology and virology ruled out the involvement of bovine alphaherpesvirus (BoHV-2) bovine gammaherpesvirus (BoHV-4), orthopoxviruses (cowpox) and parapoxviruses (pseudocowpox). Histopathology of an affected and surgically amputated teat showed multifocal erosion and ulceration of the epidermis, covered by a thick serocellular crust. In areas of ulceration, there were numerous neutrophils, and the dermis was expanded by granulation tissue with variable numbers of neutrophils, eosinophils, and lymphocytes around small blood vessels.

Diagnosis: Based on the similarity of the history, presentation, and histopathological changes to those described for a novel disease reported in the UK, a diagnosis of ischaemic teat necrosis (ITN) was made.

Clinical Relevance: If ITN is an emerging condition in New Zealand and becomes as prevalent as it has in the UK, clinicians will be confronted with a significant new welfare problem in dairy cows. Anecdotally, there have been reports of other ITN outbreaks in New Zealand, and the Ministry for Primary Industries would be interested in collating reports from other New Zealand veterinarians.

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Source
http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/00480169.2024.2392687DOI Listing

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