Footrot is an infectious, endemic disease of sheep that is of economic global importance. It is caused by the bacterium Dichelobacter nodosus (Dn), which invades damaged, interdigital skin and causes inflammation depending on the host, environment and strain of pathogen the disease might progress to under running of hoof horn and lameness. The disease is painful and reduces ewe productivity and lamb growth rate, costing the UK alone up to £84 million per annum. The current study is focused on transmission of Dn with the aim of identifying the role of environmental contamination with the pathogen in transmission and maintenance of infection sources. Methods targeted the use of molecular detection in samples such as bedding, pasture, soil and faeces to enable sensitive, specific and quantitative measurement of pathogen prevalence and survival. Analysis of DNA from swabs taken from ewes and lambs indicated that the lambs are infected from dams. The route of Dn transmission was determined to be via bedding. Further work was done to establish carriage of identical genotypes in lambs and dams. A number of approaches were taken involving cloning a marker gene pgrA and multi locus VNTR analysis. Dn survival studies provided evidence for persistence in soil up to 40 days and free DNA declined more rapidly than intracellular DNA but both were detectable after 60 days.