Longitudinal study of a Johne’s disease control programme on an Irish dairy herd

摘要

Implications Test and cull programmes for JD may prove more effective in Ireland than elsewhere.Introduction Infection with Mycobacterium avium subspecies paratuberculosis (MAP) causes Johne’s disease (JD).Clinical JD is characterised by diarrhoea and progressive cachexia, which ultimately results in death. The reported impactof JD on on-farm profitability and animal health has led to interest in the control of MAP at farm level. Animal HealthIreland (AHI) recently launched a pilot control programme for JD in Ireland with ELISA testing forming an integral part ofthe scheme. While faecal culture is considered the gold standard test for MAP, ELISA testing is still the method of choicefor epidemiological studies and herd-based diagnosis (Gilardoni et al., 2012). With this in mind the aim of this study was toreport the results of a control programme on an Irish dairy herd involving serial ELISA testing.