Epidemiologic study of on-farm management practices associated with prevalence of Mycobacterium paratuberculosis infections in dairy cattle.
OBJECTIVE
To use an on-farm recording form to quantity the effect of specific management practices on apparent prevalence of Mycobacterium paratuberculosis in dairy cattle herds.


METHODS
Epidemiologic survey.


METHODS
26 commercial Wisconsin dairy farms.


METHODS
An instrument was developed on the basis of literature review and expert interviews to quantify on-farm management practices associated with increased apparent prevalence of M paratuberculosis. On-farm visits were conducted to assess how specific management practices were conducted. Apparent prevalence of M paratuberculosis infection was measured for all animals > 20 months old on all farms, using a commercial ELISA. Regression analysis was used to identify management variables that were significantly associated with apparent prevalence of M paratuberculosis.


RESULTS
Regression analysis (R2 = 0.90) identified that high scores for environmental conditions, newborn calf care, grower calf care, bred heifer care, and manure handling were significantly associated with M paratuberculosis apparent prevalence in Wisconsin dairy herds.


CONCLUSIONS
Environmental conditions, newborn calf care, grower calf management, bred heifer management, and manure handling factors may serve as a prioritized checklist for instructing owners and managers where to place emphasis in changing management practices to limit M paratuberculosis prevalence. Likewise, the factors identified as having low association with apparent prevalence may be de-emphasized in control programs, allowing dairy managers to focus time and finances on more effective components of an M paratuberculosis control program.
Goodger
W J
WJ
Department of Medical Sciences, School of Veterinary Medicine, University of Wisconsin-Madison 53706, USA.
Collins
M T
MT
Nordlund
K V
KV
Eisele
C
C
Pelletier
J
J
Thomas
C B
CB
Sockett
D C
DC
D000822:Animal Husbandry; D000818:Animals; D002417:Cattle; D002418:Cattle Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology*; D004797:Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay / Q000662:veterinary; D004812:Epidemiologic Methods; D005260:Female; D010283:Paratuberculosis / Q000453:epidemiology*; D015995:Prevalence; D012044:Regression Analysis; D014922:Wisconsin / Q000453:epidemiology