Aetiology of ovine footrot in Spain.

Four hundred and sixty strains of obligate anaerobes were isolated from 216 cases of ovine foot rot distributed throughout Spain. The predominant species was Dichelobacter nodosus, which was isolated in 168 cases (77.8 per cent). A higher proportion of the strains of D nodosus than of the other strains had elastolytic activity, 118 of the 168 strains degrading elastin. Species belonging to the genus Prevotella were isolated from 96 cases (44.4 per cent). Serotyping of the D nodosus strains showed that serovars A1, A2 and C were the most commonly isolated in Spain.