Animal Health and Welfare – Johne's Disease Control

Johne's Disease Prevention
Every dairy producer in California faces the risk of herd exposure to Johne's Disease, which can cause significant losses. The disease is a creeping threat that not only lowers milk production, but also impacts a cow's ability to reproduce and can lead to increased cull rates. In severe circumstances, economic losses can be as high as $450 for each lactation. Cattle are usually infected as calves but do not show clinical signs of the disease until three or more years of age. There is currently no effective treatment, so on-farm prevention is critical.

The CDQAP Johne's Disease Control Program has been suspended due to lack of funding.

Proper management is the key to preventing Johne's Disease-related losses. Working with State and Federal Johne's disease control organizations, the CDQAP offers a three-stage program (Education, Management and Herd Classification) with certification of successful completion of each component. All three phases involve producer and veterinarian cooperation. CDQAP maintains a list of California veterinarians who have been specially trained to offer this on-farm evaluation and Johne's intervention program. CDQAP has assisted in administering government-funded Johne's prevention programs in the past, and will keep dairy producers updated on the availability of these funds as well as providing information on advances in control methods. An added benefit to implementing a Johne's control program on your dairy is that the incidence from other calf diseases (Salmonella, E. coli, Crypto) can also be dramatically reduced.

Producers should talk to their veterinarians about Johne's Disease Control.