Author
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Stabel, Judith |
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Submitted to: Meeting Proceedings
Publication Type: Proceedings Publication Acceptance Date: 5/1/2006 Publication Date: 6/1/2006 Citation: Stabel, J.R. 2006. Paratuberculosis: an update. Proceedings of 24th World Buiatrics Congress. October 15-19, 2006, Nice, France. p. 1-8. Interpretive Summary: Technical Abstract: Paratuberculosis (Johne’s disease) is a chronic, progressive enteric disease of ruminants caused by infection with Mycobacterium avium subsp. paratuberculosis. Economic losses from this disease are estimated to be $200US/infected cow/year and are the result of animal culling, reduced milk production, poor reproductive performance, and reduced carcass value. Johne’s disease has become a high priority disease in the cattle industry. The last estimates of herd prevalence in the US range from 22 to 40% of dairy herds having at least one serologically positive animal. There are no adequate estimates of herd prevalence in beef cattle in the US. The economic impact of this disease on the dairy industry was estimated to be over $200 million per year in 1996 and is growing each year with the continued spread of this disease. In addition, M. avium subsp. paratuberculosis has been implicated as a causative factor in Crohn’s disease, a chronic inflammatory bowel disease of human beings, which has served as a further impetus to control this disease in our national cattle industry. One of the major objectives of research in paratuberculosis is to improve diagnostic tests for the detection of the disease. Improved detection will provide tools to reduced the environmental load of the bacterium and allay the spread of the disease within herds. Research on host immunology and pathogenesis to infections with M. avium subsp. paratuberculosis will allow design of more rational diagnostic and control procedures. Keywords: paratuberculosis; cattle; diagnostics; immunology. |
