SPIROCHETES ISOLATED FROM DAIRY-CATTLE WITH PAPILLOMATOUS DIGITAL DERMATITIS AND INTERDIGITAL DERMATITIS

Two groups of spirochetes were isolated from papillomatous digital der matitis (PDD) lesions in dairy cattle. The two groups could be readily differentiated on the basis of morphologic and immunologic characteri stics and enzymatic activity. A spirochete isolated from an interdigit al dermatitis (IDD) lesion appeared morphologically and antigenically similar to spirochetes in one of the PDD groups and exhibited an ident ical enzyme activity pattern. The two groups of PDD spirochetes had ch aracteristics most consistent with the genus Treponema. The PDD and ID D isolates differed morphologically from previously described bovine T reponema spp. Although spirochetes have been observed to be one of the predominant bacterial morphotypes in PDD and IDD and are found invadi ng the stratum spinosum and dermal papillae in PDD lesions, the signif icance of these spirochetes in the etiopathogenesis of PDD and IDD is presently unknown.