title: Comparison of ante-mortem assays to assess progression/regression of paratuberculosis in individual dairy animals.
abstract: Johne's disease, caused by Mycobacterium avium, subspecies paratuberculosis (MAP) is becoming increasingly widespread on dairy farms worldwide, due in part, to the absence of vaccine/drug or curative modalities.  This spread is of concern since MAP is at the center of a controversy as to its role in Crohn's disease.  None of the methods presently available to define paratuberculosis in cattle have been examined for their ability to assess progression/regression of any treatment or intervention of this disease   The research presented herein, therefore was designed to assess the reliability and accuracy of available ante-mortem assays to predict disease change of individual animals undergoing a probiotic, potentially therapeutic, treatment.  Paratuberculosis positive (n = 75) and negative (n = 10) animals were longitudinally monitored over their natural lifetimes with specific serum antibody and fecal shedding assays, and for development of end-stage clinical disease.  Longitudinal, increasing/decreasing serum ELISA values were associated with, and predictive of, progression/regression of disease.  Changes in fecal shedding and serum AGID were of value at only specific stages.  Documentation that ELISA-positive animals were positive for paratuberculosis was done by a compilation of ELISA-independent assays--succumbing with end-stage clinical disease, autopsy, AGID, and MAP fecal shedding.
authors.affiliation: University of Wisconsin-River Falls, River Falls, WI, USA. mbclicker@msn.com
authors.forename: Robert E
authors.initials: RE
authors.lastname: Click
authors.forename: Craig L
authors.initials: CL
authors.lastname: Van Kampen
mesh_terms: D000192:Actinomycetales; D000818:Animals; D000907:Antibodies, Bacterial / Q000097:blood*; D001706:Biopsy; D002417:Cattle; D002418:Cattle Diseases / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000382:microbiology / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000628:therapy; D015169:Colony Count, Microbial; D003612:Dairying; D018450:Disease Progression; D004797:Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay / Q000379:methods; D005243:Feces / Q000382:microbiology*; D005260:Female; D008297:Male; D016927:Mycobacterium avium subsp. paratuberculosis / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology* / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D010283:Paratuberculosis / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000382:microbiology / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000628:therapy; D019936:Probiotics / Q000627:therapeutic use; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D016896:Treatment Outcome
chemical_list: D000907:Antibodies, Bacterial