An acute outbreak of teat lesions affecting 38% of a dairy herd in Northland

Abstract

Extract

Teat lesions are common in dairy cattle in New Zealand. Most of the infectious cases are caused by pseudocowpox virus, but lesions similar to those caused by bovine herpesvirus (BHV)-2 have been described clinically and confirmed serologically in New Zealand (Horner and Raynel 1988). BHV-2 and BHV-4 cause an acute viral disease in cattle known as bovine herpes mammillitis or ulcerative mammillitis (Hillerton et al 2001). Presumptive cases have been reported in New Zealand based on the nature and distribution of lesions (Daniel 1970). The disease is probably endemic in New Zealand but is poorly documented and generally considered to be mild and sporadic. The main differential diagnosis is pseudocowpox, which is often also present in herds affected with bovine herpes mammillitis, and dual infections of individual cattle have been reported (Gibbs et al 1972). To my knowledge, neither BHV-2 nor BHV-4 have yet been isolated in New Zealand.

Acknowledgements

The author would like to thank the herdowners for their patience and providing the data. The staff at Gribbles Veterinary Pathology, Ross Woods, Kathy Dropulich and Kylie Martinovich, are thanked for their valuable input

Notes

¹ RA Squires, Institute of Veterinary, Animal and Biomedical Sciences, Massey University, Palmerston North, New Zealand