Prevalence of Paratuberculosis (Johne's Disease) in Illinois Cattle Herds

Abstract

There has been an increasingly severe clinical problem with paratuberculosis for several purebred beef breeders who are clients of the Field Service Section, Department of Clinical Veterinary Medicine, College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Illinois. Several approaches have been made to estimate the significance of the disease and its impact on both management and health status of these herds. Preliminary studies to assess the significance of paratuberculosis in Illinois in herds without previous history of clinical J ohne' s disease indicated one third (5 / 15 ) had one or more cows shedding the causative organism. Based on this finding, a statistically designed random sampling study was begun to assess the extent of the disease in Illinois cattle herds. Partial results at this time indicate approximately 31 % of Illinois herds sampled have one or more cows shedding Mycobacterium paratuberculosis.