Paratuberculosis (Johne's Disease) in Cattle and Other Susceptible Species

Abstract

Consensus Statements of the American College of Veterinary Internal Medicine (ACVIM) provide the veterinary community with up-to-date information on the pathophysiology, diagnosis, and treatment of clinically important animal diseases. The ACVIM Board of Regents oversees selection of relevant topics, identification of panel members with the expertise to draft the statements, and other aspects of assuring the integrity of the process. The statements are derived from evidence-based medicine whenever possible and the panel offers interpretive comments when such evidence is inadequate or contradictory. A draft is prepared by the panel, followed by solicitation of input by the ACVIM membership which may be incorporated into the statement. It is then submitted to the Journal of Veterinary Internal Medicine, where it is edited prior to publication. The authors are solely responsible for the content of the statements. Paratuberculosis (Johne's disease) is a widespread and costly disease. This consensus statement will summarize recommendations regarding diagnosis, control, and treatment of Johne's disease in cattle and other species. Each section of recommendations is followed by a statement that subjectively characterizes the strength of the supporting evidence. The role played by Mycobacterium avium subsp. paratuberculosis (MAP) in the pathogenesis has been a matter of controversy for many years. This statement concludes with an assessment of the evidence in favor of MAP as a potential zoonotic pathogen. Paratuberculosis (Johne

Questionnaire identifying management practices surrounding calving on spring-calving dairy farms and their associations with herd size and herd expansion

“…Calves and young stock are most susceptible to paratuberculosis (Sweeney et al, 2012). More than 20% of Irish herds have diagnosed at least one positive paratuberculosis animal in their herd (Good et al, 2009); however 35% of respondents in the present study had never tested for the disease.…”

“…The use of shared maternity pens by 63% of respondents in the present study, is a management strategy which was previously been reported to increase the risk of the spread of infectious disease to the calf, compared to individual maternity pens (37% of respondents; Sweeney et al, 2012). According to previous research, respondents that provided individual pens for cows at calving, are not only more likely to have a reduced risk of spreading infection (Sweeney et al, 2012), but are also minimizing the risk of stress to the cow (Vasseur et al, 2010), which has been reportedly associated with a reduced risk of prolonged parturition and weaker calves at birth (Gulliksen et al, 2009a).…”

“…According to previous research, respondents that provided individual pens for cows at calving, are not only more likely to have a reduced risk of spreading infection (Sweeney et al, 2012), but are also minimizing the risk of stress to the cow (Vasseur et al, 2010), which has been reportedly associated with a reduced risk of prolonged parturition and weaker calves at birth (Gulliksen et al, 2009a). The timing of transferring cows to a calving pen pre-calving is a component of stress management for the periparturient cow; according to previous research the 87% of respondents that transfer cows >24 h before calving are minimizing stress on the cow (Bao and Giller, 1991).…”

“…This is particularly true for nervous cows and heifers (Mee, 2008). Moving cows when they had already calved has been reported to increase the risk that the calf will contract infection (Gulliksen et al, 2009a;Sweeney et al, 2012) as stress can increase the shedding of diseases that may be present such as Infectious Bovine Rhinotracheitis.…”

“…The 40% of respondents that allowed the calf to suckle the dam, were creating an environment that increased exposure of pathogens to the calf due to direct contact with the dam (Sweeney et al, 2012). Furthermore, the volume of colostrum consumed is immeasurable when the calf suckles the dam and dairy calves typically do not voluntarily consume sufficient volumes of colostrum to ensure adequate IgG absorption (Brignole and Stott, 1980;Besser et al, 1991).…”