Warts are caused by a pappiloma-type virus of which there are multiple strains. They can grow on any part of the skin, but have a predilection for the teats, head, neck and face.

By far the most common and problematic are those that appear on the teats on heifers, in particular. Warts on teats can occur as two common forms – slender rice grain-type or individual spherical-like growths. Even though the latter look a lot worse, they are often easier to resolve than rice grain types, especially when these manifest in cluster growths.

Physical removal of the wart is the best remedy. However, this means getting them early and not letting them get too big where their removal would involve the loss of too much skin and/or underlining tissue. This is a particular problem with dairy heifers at summer pasture.

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Too often we are asked to examine heifers with the odd wart, which on closer examination reveals multiple warts on more than one teat, which are often inoperable.

I’ve often seen heifers that had to be dried off, fattened and culled after their first caving due to the effect of warts. The likelihood of this happening is low, but the consequences, should it happen, could be devastating. Therefore, checking heifers at grass in the summer for teat warts in particular is advisable.

The final weapon in the armoury against warts is an autogenous vaccine. These are readily made by taking a sample of the warts present on your animals and sending them to a suitable laboratory (some of the private laboratories provide this service).

It’s important to note that where vaccines are used, they do take time to work, maybe a month or so. It’s also important to remember that they work best when warts are smallest and are at an early stage of development.

Whether it’s surgical removal or control using vaccines, treating warts early is essential. Delaying intervention will reduce your chances of success, with premature culling of some of your herd’s most valuable stock (replacement dairy heifers) a likely outcome.

Michael Sexton works in Riverview Vets, a 10-vet practice in Bandon, Co Cork.