Research Summary - 3
Assessing the impact of improved navel hygiene on calf health in a UK herd
| Date/Time: |
8/29/2026
08:00
|
| Author: |
David Charles |
| Clinic: |
NoBACZ Healthcare Ltd |
| City, State, ZIP: |
Cambridge, UK DE22 4JX |
D. Charles, CertHE(Biol.) BVSc CertAVP(Sheep) PGCertVPS MRCVS
1
;
E. Collins-Wingate, BVMSci MRCVS
1
;
1NoBACZ Healthcare Ltd, Cambridge, CB3 0ES, UK
2NoBACZ Healthcare Ltd, Cambridge, CB3 0ES, UK
Introduction:
Omphalitis is an often under-reported condition in calves, it is known that infection may remain external, only affecting the umbilical stump, or it may spread internally to vessels and organs.
Recent work estimates the prevalence in calves to be 30 %, and calves whose navels are not disinfected after birth are over 2.3 times more likely to develop omphalitis. Omphalitis has been shown to increase the odds ratio for calf mortality by a factor of 2.5 and to reduce daily liveweight gain by 96 grammes (Perrot et al., 2023). There is no reported significant difference in omphalitis rates between dairy and beef cattle, whilst there is an increased in umbilical hernias in Holstein-Frieisans than other breeds (Ridgeway, 2025). Previous work in the United States has demonstrated clinical examination to be a sufficient method for diagnosing omphalitis in the first two weeks of life, and that incidence rates above 5 % indicate a herd-level problem (Wieland et al., 2017).
In 2023 a novel navel barrier solution (NBS) comprising alcohol, shellac and transition metal ions was developed as an alternative to iodine. Published work demonstrated that NBS is superior to 10 % iodine when used in lambs (adjusted odds ratio (OR) for mortality of 0.76 for NBS (95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.63–0.91; p = 0.003), reducing neonatal mortality and leading to increased daily liveweight gain, evidenced by 500 grammes difference at eight-weeks (Lovatt et al., 2025).
This project aimed to assess the impact on antimicrobial usage and the prevalence of navel infections in a Midlands-based beef suckler unit when the traditional use of 10 % strong iodine was replaced by NBS which had been proven efficacious in other livestock species.
Materials and methods:
NBS was introduced as the standard protocol for the 2025 calving season, with no other changes made to housing, management, application frequency or calf management were made. Records from the previous four years were collected (when iodine was used) to allow retrospective analysis and comparison with the 2025 records (using NBS).
All treatments were applied by the same staff member to avoid any bias or variation between operators.
Attention was given to recording the number of times a navel product was applied, number of navel swellings, number of calves receiving treatment for omphalitis, and the total number of treatments administered for omphalitis.
Results:
A 91.5 % reduction in the total number of omphalitis treatments was observed in 2025 compared with 2024 (16 % of calves treated for omphalitis in 2024 v 1.56 % in 2025).
The average number of uses of navel product was 1.02 compared with 2.0 in the previous four years. During a post-project interview the farmer reported a perceived increase in calf vigour and reduced navel dry time in the first 48 hours of life.
A retrospective review of farm health records (2020 - 2024) indicated no direct association between navel infection and calf mortality; however, prior navel infection appeared to be a predictor of subsequent morbidity and reduced performance. Of the twelve calves treated for navel infection during the 2024 calving period, eleven were male. One of these calves later required treatment for pneumonia in winter 2024. Longitudinal weight records showed that, more than one year after treatment and despite being managed on an ad‑lib barley finishing ration, eight of the eleven male calves exhibited average or below‑average weights relative to their cohort, suggesting a potential long‑term performance impact associated with early-life navel infection and a clear indicator to reduce omphalitis in early life.
Significance:
The introduction of NBS as the standard product for use on calves’ navels after birth provided rapid desiccation and improved protection of the navel compared with approaches used in previous years. On this farm, a 91.6 % reduction in omphalitis incidence was observed through this single change in navel management – highlighting the benefit of picking the right navel hygiene product and applying it rapidly after birth. Further work is required to assess if the benefit of dipping navels versus spraying is the same as found in small ruminants.
