Eradicating Johnes Disease Demands Industry Effort
A symposium on Johne’s dis
ease was sponsored by Livestock
Conservation Institute, the Uni
versity of Wisconsin School of
Veterinary Agriculture, and the
Wisconsin Department of Agri
culture, Trade and Consumer Pro
tection. It was held in Madison,
Wisconsin on November 11,
1988.
Johne’s disease, caused by
Mycobacterium paratuberculosis,
is a disease found in ruminant ani
mals. The disease is most fre
quently a problem in dairy cattle.
The disease can be spread trans
placentally to the fetus, at birth,
and through contaminated water
and feed. It is extremely rare that
the diseases can be transmitted
through semen, according to Dr.
Robert Whitlock, School of Veter
inary Medicine, University of
Pennsylvania.
‘The organism is shed in the
manure in large numbers by
infected adult cows, especially
those with clinical signs. This
shedding causes extensive conta
mination of the environment,
including the calf and the cow’s
udder. Once the bacteria are
ingested, they multiply slowly
over many months in the lower
intestinal tract, causing the intes
tine to become thickened. Once
thickened, the intestine absorbs
nutrients and water less effective
ly, resulting in diarrhea and cer
tain death unless the cow is sent to
salvage before that time,” Whit
lock said.
“There is currently no treatment
for the disease,” said Whitlock.
A point that was stressed during
a panel' discussion was that
improved management techniques
such as better sanitation methods,
for example, were necessary, to
lower the incidence of Johne’s
disease.
Another message that came
through, during the panel discus
sion was that the industry has to
work together to solve this prob
lem. The producer has got to want
to do something about the disease
instead of being afraid to admit he/
she has it, because the economic
losses are great if we do some
thing about it, but even greater in
the long run, if we do nothing.
Walter Stemler, of Mid-
America Dairymen Inc., and
member of the LCI Executive
Committee, encouraged producers
to go to their milk cooperatives
and recommend that a resolution
by put forth to develop a national
Johne’s disease control program.
Stemler was one of the meeting
participants that commented dur
ing a panel/audience discussion.
“There is no way there will be a
federal regulatory program for
Johne’s disease until the industry
demands it,” said Dr. Diana
Whipple, National Animal Dis
ease Lab, Ames, lowa.
If we could get the whole indus
try involved, we can work to solve
this problem, according to Dr.
Sarah Hurley, Wisconsin Depart
ment of Natural Resources and
School of Veterinary Medicine.
University of Wisconsin, Mad
ison.
USDA PROVIDES
NEW SERVICE
USDA-APHIS is now provid
ing a new phone service (Voice
Response Service) that provides
the caller with information on reg
ulations for specific states, as well
as emergency notices. To call, you
must use a touch-tone phone, dial
1-800-234-8732.
This system was developed to
supplement other sources of state
import requirements. Forty-three
states have made their rules and
regulations known to the System.
State information or changes in
regulations should be reported to
the National Center for Animal
Health Information Systems, 555
S. Howes, Suite 300, Fort Collins,
CO 80S21. (Journal of the Ameri
can Veterinary Association, Nov.
1. 1988)
HOLLAND
EXPERIENCES
BRUCELLOSIS
OUTBREAKS
Outbreaks of brucellosis on two
farms in southern Holland have
required the destruction of 220
dairy cows. The infection was first
detected in a cow imported from
Germany which suffered an abor
tion. Six-hundred-twenty-five'
cows in Limburg, southern Hol
land, are already reported to have
been destroyed this year as a result
of the disease. (Animal Pharm,
September 23, 1988)
lOWA ALLOWS
IMPORTATION OF
FEEDER PIGS
FROM WISCONSIN
WITHOUT
FURTHER TESTS
An order signed by Dale
Cochran, Secretary of Agriculture
and Land Stewardship for the state
of lowa, allows for the importa
tion of feeder pigs of Wisconsin
origin into lowa without further
tests on these animals or the
breeding herd of origin.
These animals must be identi
fied by ear tags, be accompanied
by an approved certificate of vet
erinary inspection showing the
permitted number and will be
quarantined to the farm of destina
tion until slaughter.
This order went into effect
November 8, 1988.
MASSACHUSETTS
VICTORY MAY
BREED
COMPLACENCY,
Editorial by
John H. Lang, President
Before we are finished basking
in the euphoria of the resounding
defeat of the Humane Farming
Initiative in Massachusetts, we
need someone to jerk us back to
reality. Let me play that role.
The major danger we face now
is complacency. The margin of
victory was so great that it will
seem to the casual observer that
the victory was easy. The live
stock industry a multi-billion
dollar industry - failed to provide
adequate financial resources to
Massachusetts to fight the initia
tive. It was, in fact, only the hero
ism of Massachusetts farmers,
desperate to save their farms and
their way of life, that motivated
them to undertake the campaign
they did. Every farmer in the state
must have been at a voting center
on election day, personally lobby
ing for the defeat of the Humane
Fanning Initiative.
Yes, we did win, but the live
stock industry took a major risk in
not providing Massachusetts
farmers with the resources to
undertake an adequate conven
tional publicity campaign to back
their grass roots campaign. We
may not be able to muster that
level of farmer commitment in a
future challenge.
There certainly arc plusses to
the Massachusetts victory. It con
firms to legislators and regulatory
officials that suppon for sweeping
animal welfare regulation is not
broad. This victory gives us brea
thing room to address the more
substantive issues of livestock
welfare including the develop
ment of effective training pro
grams on livestock handling for
livestock managers and employ
ees, the support of livestock beha
vioral research, and the use of that
knowledge in the development of
better livestock handling systems,
equipment and techniques.
The defeat of the Humane
Farming Initiative in Massa
chusetts was not the rejection of
the need to treat livestock
humanely. Instead, it recognizes
that producers do handle their
livestock humanely, and that
humane livestock handling prac
tices should be based on research
and not on philosophy or theolo
gy, or the need to keep the funds
rolling in to pay the salaries of
'highly paid animal rights organi
zation executives.
REPORTS OF
LYME DISEASE
INCREASE
Lyme disease has been reported
with increased frequency on the
east coast, in the midwestern
states of Minnesota, Wisconsin,
Michigan, Illinois, lowa and
Indiana, and in the western states
of California, Nevada, Utah and
Oregon, according to University
of Wisconsin researcher Dr. Eli
zabeth Burgess.
“The disease has been found in
a total of thirty-nine states”, said
Burgess.
Lyme disease gets its name
from the city that it was first re
cognized in the United States in
1975 - CHd Lyme, Connecticut.
The disease can cause serious ill-
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ness in humans and animals if not
diagnosed and treated promptly. It
is often difficult to diagnose since
some of the symptoms could also
be signs of other diseases, accord
ing to Burgess.
Lyme disease is transmitted by
the bite of a deer tick (Ixodes dam
mini), which is found in the mid
western and eastern coastal states.
In California and other western
states, the vector is the western
black-legged tick (Ixodes pacifi
cus). The ticks are most frequently
transported by the white-tailed
deer or the white-footed mouse.
The bacterium that causes
Lyme disease is a spirochete
called Borrelia burgdorfer. The
parasite can be excreted in the
urine of mice, dogs, horses and
cows. Livestock can be infected
with the organism by ingesting a
substance or licking an area conta
minated by the excrement of a
Farm Calendar
Replacement Nutrition School,
Jan. 19 through 26.
Delaware vegetable Growers
Annual Meeting, Sheraton Inn,
Dover.
Saturday, January 14
Franklin Co. Annual Holstein
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host animal.
Lyme disease has been fre
quently diagnosed in horses and
has been detected in the urine of
dairy cattle.-
"It has been shown in dairy
cattle that the organism can be
passed through the placenta to the
unborn calf,” said Burgess.
This organism can cause abor
tion, still births, and birth defects.
The symptoms of Lyme disease
include lameness (which may be
intermittent), poor appetite, and
fever. In humans, a rash may be
noticeable. If diagnosed in the ear
ly stages, the disease can be
treated with antibiotics in both
humans and livestock.
Vaccines are currently under
development, but research is in the
early stages. A vaccine is not
expected to be available for three
to five years, according to
Burgess.
(Continued from Pag* AID)
Meeting, 7:15 p.m. Savoy
Restaurant, Waynesboro.
New Jersey Holstein Association
Annual Meeting, Watchung
View Inn, Bedminster, NJ.
Junior Holstein Convention, Sher
aton Inn, Batavia, NY.
*