Efficacy of quaternary ammonium salt-based disinfectant or chelated copper-zinc mixture footbath solution in the control of digital dermatitis in dairy cows

Abstract Background: Bovine digital dermatitis (DD) represents a common cause of lameness in cattle both in Taiwan and worldwide. DD can be controlled using footbaths but the traditional use of footbath with copper sulfate is harmful to the environment. Therefore, the objective of this study was to use a quaternary ammonium salt-based disinfectant or a chelated copper-zinc mixture for foot bathing as an alternative to copper sulfate for DD in lactating cows. Moreover, a cleaning pool was established and used prior to the DD foot bathing. Two groups of 27 lactating cows were checked and randomly assigned to two treatment groups, which were 1% quaternary ammonium salt-based disinfectant (BCD) and 2.5% chelated copper-zinc mixture (CZM). The experimental period lasted for 15 consecutive weeks and a footbath was performed once a week. Results: The cure rate proportion in the BCD group was significantly higher than the CZM, measuring at 67% and 38%, respectively (P = 0.03). The logistic regression analyses indicated that the odds (95% CI) for the cure rate in the CZM group was 0.30 (0.095–0.948) times than in the BCD group (P = 0.04). Following the 15 weeks of treatment, both the BCD and CZM groups exhibited a significant increase of M0 in all cows (P < 0.05). Moreover, the proportion of M2, M3, and M4 in the BCD group was significantly decreased (P < 0.05). Similarly, the M2 proportion was significantly decreased in the CZM group, while the M1 proportion was significantly increased (P < 0.05). The proportion of cows with M0 in BCD was significantly higher at the end of the experiment than those in the CZM group (P < 0.05). The proportion of M1, M2, M3, and M4 demonstrated no difference between the BCD and CZM treatments at each stage (P > 0.05).Conclusion: The results illustrated that establishing a cleaning pool prior to foot bathing, in addition to, a weekly footbath with a 1% quaternary ammonium salt-based disinfectant, provided additional control over the prevalence of DD.