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Epidemiologic study of on-farm management practices associated with prevalence of Mycobacterium paratuberculosis
W J Goodger1, M T Collins, K V Nordlund
1Department of Medical Sciences, School of Veterinary Medicine, University of Wisconsin-Madison 53706, USA.
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.
Design:
Epidemiologic survey.
Animals:
26 commercial Wisconsin dairy farms.
Procedures:
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.
Clinical Implications:
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.