Prevalence and Risk Factors for Lameness in Dairy Cattle in Selected Farms Located at Dessie and Kombolcha, Northeast Ethiopia

Hassen Ahmed Mekonnin ¹ Abadi Amare Reda ^1,2* Alula Alemayehu Assen ¹ Awol Mohammed Assen ^1,3

• ¹ School of Veterinary Medicine, Wollo University, Dessie, Ethiopia
• ² Animal Genetics and Breeding Unit, University of New England, Armidale, Australia
• ³ School of Environmental and Rural Science, University of New England, Armidale, New South Wales, Australia

Lameness in dairy cattle has been a continuing burden for farmers in modern dairy production due to its consequences on animal welfare and productivity. A cross-sectional study was conducted from May 2022 to February 2023 to estimate the prevalence and to identify associated risk factors of lameness in 433 dairy cows in 37 selected farms located at Dessie and Kombolcha, northeast Ethiopia. The selected animals were examined for lameness using a five-point visual locomotion scoring technique during daily outdoor access on a solid walking surface of refreshment areas.Cows that had a lameness score > 2 were regarded as clinically lame. The overall prevalence of lameness was defined as the total number of clinically lame animals divided by the total number of animals examined. The herd-level prevalence was calculated as the total number of positive herds divided by the total number of herds sampled. After variable screening using a univariable analysis, separate multivariable mixed-effects logistic regression models that included farm as a random effect were fitted to identify risk factors for lameness at animal and herd levels. The overall prevalence of lameness was 5.77% (95%CI = 3.57-7.98%). The herd-level lameness prevalence was 32.4% (95%CI =18.0 -49.8%), whereas the average within-herd lameness prevalence was 5.20% (95%CI = 2.46 -7.95%, range = 0.00 -25.0%). The animal and herd-level risk factors included in the final multivariable mixed-effects model were age, body condition score, milking status, and farm history of lameness. Only milking status and lameness history were significant in the final model. The odds of being lame were higher in cows with middle (OR = 10.8, 95%CI = 1.37 -84.8, p = 0.024) and late (OR = 11.1, 95%CI = 1.38 -88.8, p = 0.024) stages of lactation.Further, animals in farms with a history of lameness (OR = 10.0, p = 0.001) were highly likely to be clinically lame. Overall, lameness was highly associated with the middle and late stages of lactation in farms with a previous history of lameness. Therefore, farmers should regularly monitor and maintain cows' lactation status and increase their awareness about lameness on farms to reduce lameness.