Abstract
Paratuberculosis (Johne's Disease) is of concern to the cattle industry worldwide because of its potential link with Crohn's disease in humans. An 'Intensive Paratuberculosis Programme' (IPP) was initiated in the Netherlands in 1998, aiming at elimination of paratuberculosis from infected herds and low-risk trade of cattle from certified paratuberculosis-free herds. However, the uptake of the IPP amongst farmers has remained rather low, because of its high costs and lack of incentives to participate. Therefore, in January 2006, a cheaper bulk milk quality assurance programme (BMQAP) was initiated in addition to the IPP. The BMQAP aims at reducing human exposure to Mycobacterium avium subsp. paratuberculosis through dairy products.
The BMQAP starts with an initial assessment; test negative herds enter a surveillance procedure and test-positive herds a control procedure. The initial assessment includes a single herd examination by ELISA (either a serum-ELISA of all cattle >= 3 years of age, or a milk-ELISA of all lactating cattle in the herd). Farmers may confirm positive ELISA results by individual faecal culture (IFC). The surveillance procedure consists of biennial herd examinations by ELISA. The control procedure consists of either annual herd examinations by ELISA or biennial herd examinations by IFC and culling of test-positives. Herds in the surveillance procedure are assigned 'Status A' and herds in the control procedure 'Status B' if all test-positives are culled and 'Status C otherwise.
The aim of this abstract is to summarise progress within the BMQAP during the first year of the programme. Initiation of the BMQAP largely increased the total number of participating herds from 1071 at the end of 2005 (IPP only), to 1837 herds at the end of 2006 (including 606 herds in the IPP and 1231 in the BMQAP). Results of the initial assessment of all 620 dairy herds that newly joined the BMQAP (i.e. did not shift from IPP to BMQAP) in 2006 were analysed in detail. In 327 of these herds (53%), >= 1 cattle were ELISA-positive. In 164 of these 327 herds, confirmatory IFC of ELISA-positives was performed. In 89 of these 164 herds (54%), >= 1 cattle were IFC-positive. Logistic models showed a major effect of herd size on the probability of >= 1 ELISA-positive in the initial assessment, from 26% (95% Cl: 18%, 36%) to 85% (70%, 94%) if the number of cattle tested increased from 20 to 120. If confirmatory IFC was performed, the probability of >= 1 IFC-positive individual increased with the number of ELISA positives from 32% (19%, 49%) in case of one ELISA-positive individual to 90% (86% to 99%) in case of 6 ELISA-positives cattle.
This study illustrates that tailoring disease control programmes towards the needs of various groups of farmers is a key to success. Initiating a new programme aiming at bulk milk quality rather then eradication of paratuberculosis largely increased the total number of participants. Furthermore, this study provided (prospective) participants and decision makers with information on likely outcomes of the initial assessment of the BMQAP, in view of the target of the dairy industry to extend participation to all Dutch dairy herds between 2007 and 2010.
The BMQAP starts with an initial assessment; test negative herds enter a surveillance procedure and test-positive herds a control procedure. The initial assessment includes a single herd examination by ELISA (either a serum-ELISA of all cattle >= 3 years of age, or a milk-ELISA of all lactating cattle in the herd). Farmers may confirm positive ELISA results by individual faecal culture (IFC). The surveillance procedure consists of biennial herd examinations by ELISA. The control procedure consists of either annual herd examinations by ELISA or biennial herd examinations by IFC and culling of test-positives. Herds in the surveillance procedure are assigned 'Status A' and herds in the control procedure 'Status B' if all test-positives are culled and 'Status C otherwise.
The aim of this abstract is to summarise progress within the BMQAP during the first year of the programme. Initiation of the BMQAP largely increased the total number of participating herds from 1071 at the end of 2005 (IPP only), to 1837 herds at the end of 2006 (including 606 herds in the IPP and 1231 in the BMQAP). Results of the initial assessment of all 620 dairy herds that newly joined the BMQAP (i.e. did not shift from IPP to BMQAP) in 2006 were analysed in detail. In 327 of these herds (53%), >= 1 cattle were ELISA-positive. In 164 of these 327 herds, confirmatory IFC of ELISA-positives was performed. In 89 of these 164 herds (54%), >= 1 cattle were IFC-positive. Logistic models showed a major effect of herd size on the probability of >= 1 ELISA-positive in the initial assessment, from 26% (95% Cl: 18%, 36%) to 85% (70%, 94%) if the number of cattle tested increased from 20 to 120. If confirmatory IFC was performed, the probability of >= 1 IFC-positive individual increased with the number of ELISA positives from 32% (19%, 49%) in case of one ELISA-positive individual to 90% (86% to 99%) in case of 6 ELISA-positives cattle.
This study illustrates that tailoring disease control programmes towards the needs of various groups of farmers is a key to success. Initiating a new programme aiming at bulk milk quality rather then eradication of paratuberculosis largely increased the total number of participants. Furthermore, this study provided (prospective) participants and decision makers with information on likely outcomes of the initial assessment of the BMQAP, in view of the target of the dairy industry to extend participation to all Dutch dairy herds between 2007 and 2010.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Journal | Cattle Practice |
| Publication status | Published - 2007 |
| Externally published | Yes |
