الفهرس 
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Abstract
In this study, two parts were included. In Egypt, the prevalence of claw disorders and infectious claw diseases among 1838 dairy cows in four farms in and around Sharkia Province was recorded. The causative agents of ICD were investigated through the use of qualitative PCR. In addition, their effects on reproductive performance and milk production were also studied. Furthermore, treatment of digital dermatitis lesions through two protocols was compared. In Belgium, histopathological, immunohistochemical, and quantitative PCR work was performed through twenty four samples representing the different clinical stages of digital dermatitis (M0-M4) to further unravel the pathogenesis of DD in the bovine by examining the inflammatory pattern and the host response in the typical skin lesions that are associated with this painful disease.
Claw disorders were classified into infectious claw diseases (ICD) and other claw disorders (OCD). It was found that 8.8% is the overall prevalence of claw disorders from which 7.02% in earthen farms and 1.73% in desert ones. Infectious claw diseases represented 64.6% from total claw disorders with a high percentage in the hindlimbs (87.7%). Furthermore, the prevalence of ICD was the highest at the 2nd 100 days in milk and in primiparous cows. ICD included digital dermatitis (DD), interdigital dermatitis (IDD), heel horm erosion (HHE), interdigital necrobacillosis (IDN), and interdigital hyperplasia (IDH), where the prevalence of DD, IDD, HHE, IDN, and IDH represented 3.54, 1.14, 3.65, 0.38, and 0.38%, respectively from the total number of cows in the four dairy farms.