Evaluation of the milk ELISA to determine herd status for Johne's Disease
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.21423/aabppro20123896Keywords:
ELISA, mycobacterium avium, MAP, milk samples, low-prevalenceAbstract
Results from individual cow milk ELISAs can be used to determine herd status for Mycobacterium avium subsp paratuberculosis (MAP). Milk samples for the MAP ELISA are less invasive to collect than fecal samples for MAP culture. Moreover, MAP results from the milk ELISA can be obtained quicker and at less expense than MAP results from the culture of feces. The objective of this study was to evaluate the test characteristics of the milk ELISA for determination of herd MAP status in Atlantic Canadian dairy herds. It was expected that many of the MAP-positive herds in this region had low prevalence, and it was of particular interest to evaluate the performance of the milk ELISA within these low-prevalence MAP herds.