By Egerton, J. R. and Raadsma, H. W., Wool Technology and Sheep Breeding, 1993
Description
The expression of footrot results from an interaction between a specific transmitting agent, Dichelobacter nodosus, other micro-organisms, the innate and acquired resistance of the host, and the environment in which the sheep are kept. The economic impact of footrot is determined by the prevalence of severe infections and the duration of these infections. For a high risk environment the annual cost of footrot per 1000 sheep may range from $14,000 to almost 0, depending on the virulence of the transmitting agent. It is unlikely that National Eradication programmes will be successful, and most conventional control options are expensive and require re-current inputs. Alternative and long-term control strategies therefore warrant investigation. One form of long-term control would be to adapt the genotype of the host in such a way that virulent and intermediate footrot is expressed to the same extent as benign footrot. The economic impact of infection with virulent isolates of D. nodosus will be reduced that of benign isolates (i.e. benign footrot).
The expression of footrot results from an interaction between a specific transmitting agent, Dichelobacter nodosus, other micro-organisms, the innate and acquired resistance of the host, and the environment in which the sheep are kept. The economic impact of footrot is determined by the prevalence of severe infections and the duration of these infections. For a high risk environment the annual cost of footrot per 1000 sheep may range from $14,000 to almost 0, depending on the virulence of the transmitting agent. It is unlikely that National Eradication programmes will be successful, and most conventional control options are expensive and require re-current inputs. Alternative and long-term control strategies therefore warrant investigation. One form of long-term control would be to adapt the genotype of the host in such a way that virulent and intermediate footrot is expressed to the same extent as benign footrot. The economic impact of infection with virulent isolates of D. nodosus will be reduced that of benign isolates (i.e. benign footrot).
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