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Producer Input Wanted to Help
Improve Johne’s Disease Control Program
BOWLING GREEN, KY— If you’re a dairy producer, then the Johne’s
Disease Integrated Program (JDIP) is seeking your input, and
providing input is as simple as going online and completing a quick
survey. The online survey is a duplicate of the survey mailed to
approximately 15 percent of dairy producers in each state in late
March.
“The survey has
two key purposes: to identify barriers that have prevented
individuals from participating in the Voluntary Bovine Johne’s
Disease Control Program and to identify incentives for participation
in the Program,” states Dr. Ken Olson, JDIP Outreach Coordinator.
“The mailed survey and the online survey take about 10 minutes to
complete and will provide invaluable information for improving the
National Johne’s Program.
“The more
information received from producers, the better the program can be
adapted to meet future needs.”
Producers can
participate and provide input by going online to
https://online.survey.psu.edu/johnesdisease/. Information shared
is confidential, and participating producers remain anonymous. The
survey, funded by JDIP, was designed and is being carried out by
Penn State University, with Veterinary Extension Specialist Dr.
Ernest Hovingh at the helm.
Producers
seeking information about Johne’s disease are encouraged to visit
www.animalagriculture.org and click on the “Issues” tab, then
the “Johne’s disease” tab.
To participate
in the online survey, please click
https://online.survey.psu.edu/johnesdisease/.
 NAHMS
Study: Johne's Disease on U.S. Dairies, 1991-2007
Dairy 2007 study suggests that
at least one-fourth of U.S. dairy operations may have a relatively
high percentage of Johne's-infected cows in their herds.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Animal Health
Monitoring System’s (NAHMS) fourth study of the U.S. dairy industry,
Dairy 2007, focused on Johne’s disease, a disease caused by
Mycobacterium avium subspecies paratuberculosis (MAP).
MAP has a long incubation period, with clinical manifestation of
Johne’s commonly occurring two or more years after initial
infection. Clinical signs of Johne’s include chronic diarrhea,
weight loss despite a normal appetite and decreased milk production.
Dairy 2007 involved 17 of the nation’s major dairy states. West
region states included California, Idaho, New Mexico, Texas and
Washington. East region study states included Indiana, Iowa,
Kentucky, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, New York, Ohio,
Pennsylvania, Vermont, Virginia and Wisconsin, The 17 states
involved in the study represented 79.5 percent of U.S. dairy
operations and 82.5 percent of U.S. dairy cows.
The two key objectives of Dairy 2007 were:
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To estimate herd-level prevalence (number of herds infected with
MAP) in the United States.
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To compare and evaluate management practices related to
perceived risks of MAP transmission between the previous NAHMS
dairy studies.
The following information is a summary of Dairy 2007. The complete
APHIS/VS Info Sheet is available by clicking on
http://nahms.aphis.usda.gov/dairy/dairy07/Dairy2007_Johnes.pdf.
Producer Familiarity
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Percent of producers who are “fairly knowledgeable” about
Johne’s disease: Dairy 1996 study, 17.7 percent; Dairy 2007
study, 57.9 percent.
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Percent of producers who had not heard of Johne’s disease: Dairy
1996, almost 10 percent; Dairy 2007, 1.5 percent.
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Percent of producers who were fairly knowledgeable or knew some
basics about the disease: Dairy 1996, 54.8 percent; Dairy 2007,
94.1 percent.
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Percentage of Operations by Level of Familiarity with
Johne’s Disease and by Study Year |
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Management Practices
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31.7 percent of dairies surveyed in the Dairy 2007 participated
in a Johne’s disease certification or control program.
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Although separating calves from cows and their manure
immediately after calving reduces the potential of newborn
calves ingesting MAP, only 55.9 percent of producers in the
Dairy 2007 study removed calves immediately after birth.
Bringing animals onto an operation can introduce new diseases or add
to the disease burden of the herd. Careful scrutiny of the
source of new additions and a brief isolation or quarantine once the
animals are on the dairy are good management practices.
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Less than one in five operations, 17.2 percent, that brought
cattle onto the operation during the previous year required
herd-of-origin information regarding MAP-infection status.
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11.4 percent of operations tested individual animals brought
onto the operation.
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A higher percentage of medium operations, 16.6 percent, tested
purchased animals compared to large operations, 7.2 percent.
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For operations that did not individually test animals brought
on, 22.3 percent reported that testing had been done by the
herd-or-origin.
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For operations that did not individually test animals brought
on, 28.6 percent reported that MAP infection was not a concern
to their operation.
Johne’s Testing
Organism detection and measuring antibody response are the two main
methods used to test for MAP infection. During the 12 months prior
to the Dairy 2007 study:
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A higher percentage of operations with 100 to 499 cow performed
any testing for Johne’s disease compared with small operations
with fewer than 100 cows: 46.7 percent vs. 30.7 percent. This
finding was consistent with the Dairy 1996 and Dairy 2002
studies.
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Compared to Dairy 1996, the percentage of all operations testing
for Johne’s disease increased in 2002, and an increase was seen
again in 2007.
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Percentage of Operations That Tested for Johne’s Disease, by
Study Year and by Herd Size |
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Confirmed Johne’s Disease in the Herd
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More than two of 10 operations—22.7 percent—reported Johne’s
disease was confirmed in their herd during the previous 12
months.
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17.4 percent of small operations—fewer than 100 cows—confirmed
Johne’s disease in their herds during the previous 12 months.
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35.0 percent of medium operations—100 to 499 cows—confirmed
Johne’s disease in their herds during the previous 12 months.
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34.1 percent of large operations—500 or more cows—confirmed
Johne’s disease in their herds during the previous 12 months.
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23.6 percent of operations in the East region confirmed Johne’s
disease compared to 12.8 percent in the West region.
Johne’s Vaccination Practice
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The percent of operations that normally vaccinate heifers against
Johne’s disease has remained essentially unchanged since 1996, with
5.0 percent of operations reporting this practice in 2007.
Environmental Sample Testing, Culture Results
To establish Johne’s herd-level prevalence for the Dairy 2007 study,
six composite environmental samples were taken from each of 524
participating operations. The environmental samples were taken from
six different adult-cow areas where manure accumulates. Positives
were confirmed by PCR methods.
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MAP was isolated from at least one environmental sample on 68.1
percent of operations during the Dairy 2007 study.
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Prevalence of MAP increased as herd size increased.
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There were no differences in MAP prevalence between operations
in the West and East study regions.
Part I: Reference of Dairy Cattle Health
and Management Practices in the United States, 2007
Part II: Changes in the U.S. Dairy
Cattle Industry, 1991-2007
Part III: Not yet published
For more information, contact:
USDA/APHIS/VS/CEAH
NRRC Building B, MS 2E7
2150 Centre Ave
Fort Collins, CO 80526-8117
Phone: 970.494.7000
E-mail:
NAHMS@aphis.usda.gov
http://nahms.aphis.usda.gov
Johne's Program Update
The Voluntary
Bovine Johne’s Disease Control Program, (the Program),
was developed jointly by animal health officials, scientists and
producer representatives. It is designed for dairy and beef
producers to help them address Johne’s disease in a proactive
manner. Herds that do not have the disease are encouraged to use
biosecurity practices that will minimize the chance of introducing
the disease into their herd. By participating in the testing
portion of the program, they can also benefit from the increasing
demand for seed stock and replacement animals from herds that do not
have the disease. Herds with positive animals can use the program
to reduce the economic impact of the disease in their herd, while
working to reduce the incidence in their herd and move toward a
“free” status.
This update is
reported as of October 1, 2007 and includes annual program progress.
Read more...
Johne's in the
News
One of the
objectives of the Johne’s Education Initiative is to make Johne’s
information readily available to producers and those who work with
them. One way to accomplish this is through articles in
publications that are widely read by producers. Several Johne’s
related articles have been published this year. Two recent examples
are:
“Our
Johne’s Control Tools Do Work” in the July 2007 issue of
Hoard’s Dairyman and “Johne’s:
Where’s the Information?” in the September 2007 issue of
Midwest Dairy Business
Copies of the
articles are provided courtesy of the magazines.
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