Commercial Services Program Topics Testing Options Online Information Test Results |
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 Johne's disease remains a key dairy issue because it is difficult to find, hiding within the animal’s immune system until conditions are right to prevail. Unfortunately testing doesn’t identify every infected animal, so relying on testing alone to control Johne’s disease can be disappointing. So, how does testing fit into a Johne’s control program? Management is the primary requirement to address Johne’s. The organism is primarily found in manure, so ELIMINATE CALF EXPOSURE to it. |
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Testing complements management by helping to identify animals that are the source of contamination. Two types of tests are available to identify these animals, organism-based fecal testing by culture or PCR, and antibody-based serum or milk testing by ELISA <find out more>. |
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Cost considerations have made ELISA testing the predominant method in most control programs, but our understanding of Johne’s progression suggests organism-based testing must also be used to maximize the utility of testing <find out more>. With recent improvements in the sensitivity of organism-based fecal testing, pooling strategies can be used to incorporate fecal testing into a Johne’s control program at the same cost as ELISA testing <find out more>. Alternating testing types takes advantage of the strengths of each assay and minimizes their weaknesses. » Click to access Johne’s Review of Technical Studies for the Milk Antibody ELISA or Fecal PCR |
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