Effectiveness and Economic Viability of Johne's Disease (Paratuberculosis) Control Practices in Dairy Herds

• Published in: Frontiers in veterinary science Vol. 7; p. 614727
• Main Authors: Rasmussen, Philip, Barkema, Herman W, Hall, David C
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Switzerland Frontiers Media S.A 15.01.2021
• Subjects: control practice; Johne's disease; paratuberculosis; testing and culling; vaccination; Veterinary Science; Markov chain; control practice; paratuberculosis; economic analysis; Johne's disease; testing and culling; MAP; vaccination
• DOI: 10.3389/fvets.2020.614727
• ISSN: 2297-1769

Johne's disease (JD or paratuberculosis) control programs have been established in many dairy-producing regions. However, the effectiveness (reduction of within-herd prevalence) and the relative economic impact as measured by, for example, the ratio of benefits to costs (BCR) across a comprehensive selection of regions and potential control practices require further investigation. Within a Markovian framework using region-specific economic variables, it was estimated that vaccination was the most promising type of JD control practice modeled, with dual-effect vaccines (reducing shedding and providing protective immunity) having BCRs between 1.48 and 2.13 in Canada, with a break-even period of between 6.17 and 7.61 years. Dual-effect vaccines were also estimated to yield BCRs greater than one in almost all major dairy-producing regions, with greater ratios in regions characterized by above-average farm-gate prices and annual production per cow. Testing and culling was comparably effective to a dual-effect vaccine at test sensitivities >70% but would remain economically unviable in almost all regions modeled.