Dataset for "On-farm assessment of the antibacterial efficacy of hoof disinfectants for dairy cows"

This dataset contains data used in the generation of results for the paper "On-farm assessment of the antibacterial efficacy of hoof disinfectants for dairy cows"

Digital dermatitis is a major cause of infectious lameness in dairy cows. Disinfectant footbaths and sprays are used for disease control. Laboratory tests of disinfectant efficacy cannot match the complexity of organic challenges on farms. This study aimed to develop an on-farm test of antibacterial efficacy for hoof disinfectants applied as a topical spray or in a footbath. Two trials were carried out, one to test disinfectants applied by topical spray and the other to test the same products after use in a footbath that had been walked through by 100 cows. Products were copper sulphate (positive control), P1 (acetic and peracetic acid based), P2 (amine) and P3 (lactic acid and chlorocresol). A pre- and post- treatment swab methodology was used and log reduction in aerobic colony count was determined. For spray application the log reduction caused by copper sulphate was smaller than P1 but not different to P2 or P3. For the used footbath disinfectants, the log reduction caused by copper sulphate was larger than P2 but not different to P1 or P3. This practical testing method can discriminate products that have higher or lower antibacterial efficacy than copper sulphate under farm conditions when different application methods are used.

The two csv format data files in this dataset contain quantitative data that was collected between 15/01/2021 and 17/03/2021.
Between 27 and 46 swab pairs were analysed per product and application type.
The log reduction values reported in the files were determined from the raw data as follows: the mean aerobic colony count for the duplicate plates from each swab (colony forming units/ml) was transformed to log10. The log10 reduction was calculated for each pair of samples (ie each experimental replicate) by subtracting the log10 post-treatment colony count from the log10 pre-treatment colony count.

The file 'Data_Spray_application_log_reduction_in_efficacy' contains the log reduction in aerobic bacteria obtained on each occasion when four hoof disinfectant products were applied by spray.
The file 'Data_Footbath_application_log_reduction_in_efficacy' contains the log reduction in aerobic bacteria obtained on each occasion when four hoof disinfectant produts were applied after dairy cows had walked through them in a footbath.