FOUL IN FOOT.

Waikato Times, Volume 108, Issue 18169, 6 November 1930, Page 8

FOUL IN FOOT.

SERIOUS CATTLE AILMENT. PRECAUTIONARY MEASURES. HOW TO TREAT THE DISEASE. “Foul in the foot,’’ or “foot rot” as it Is commonly known is now so common in cattle, and the enquiries for the best method of treatment are so numerous that the Waikato Times has acquired some valuable information r the subject, for the benefit of readers, from the Department of Agriculture. “Foul in the foot" is essentially a wound infection, due to the necrosis bacillus. Probably in most cases, the wound which provides a point of entry for the germ is insignificant and superficial. Small bruises between the toes due to presence and pressure of a tiny pebble held there by mud, scratches by thorns, rough metal, stumps, etc., may be sufficient. Last summer, many cases occurred in the dry weather, and were believed to result from injuries between the toes caused by stiff stubble in fields from which hay or ensilage had been cut.

The germ is common in soil, particularly in low-lying parts, and while mud is favourable to it, it may also be present in dust.

Symptoms and Course. In the very first stages there is merely uneasiness, indicated by plucking, twitching or shaking the foot as if to dislodge some irritant, and . possibly a slight limp.' The germ is still superficial, jn two to four days the lameness becomes marked. The action of the germ is to. cause death of the tissues from toxin it forms, and the course of disease depends on the tissue reaction. Sometimes a slough of dead tissue little more than skin deep is rapidly thrown off by pus formation underneath, and when this core comes away leaving a clean wound under neath, recovery is straight forward. At other times, the infection continues'to extend more deeply, lameness and pain are severe and the animal spends most of its time lying with appetite and milk reduced. There is swelling round the top of the hoof and the toes are spread, but no definite core can be separated though there may he one or ttfo openings discharging pus. Sometimes the infection extends to a joint in hoof or pastern. Such cases linger on for months.

Importance of Early Attention.

The really important point is early attention. If such cases are caught at the first sign of uneasiness the foot cleaned out thoroughly and soaked in some reliable antiseptic solution.as 5 per cent. Jeyes fluid, bluestone Jib. .to gallon, or the cleft and coronet well swabbed with tincture of iodine, the infection is destroyed. In the next stage, with pus and diseased tissue apparent thorough soaking by immersing the foot for i 5 min'Utes twice a day in the warm antiseptic solution should be tried for two or three days, and any loose or underrun horn removed by the careful use of a farrier’s search-knife, avoiding unnecessary bleeding. If a core can be separated, recovery should follow and this separation in a case resisting the above treatment may often be encouraged by placing a small piece of cotton wool soaked in Jeye’s fluid between the toes, padding up the whole space with dry cotton wool, etc. and bandaging in place for 24 hours. In the worst cases with serious swelling antiseptic poultices may be tried but surgical measures may be necessary. y

Prevention of the Trouble,

Affected cows should, as far as possible, be saved from wading through mud, or travelling far for food, therefore food and water should be carried to them and they should be milked in the field. As an avoidance of the abovementioned causes of minor injuries to feet, clean gateways and sprinkling of quicklime about yard and gateways, seem the most useful measures. Nodoubt the regular use of a footbath at entrances to yard, would entirely prevent such cases. It should not be necessary to point out that foul is quite different from the lameness and stiffness seen in the so-called Waihi disease, due to a deficiency of calcium phospnate and in which there are no foot lesions whatever.