If you are on Facebook or have any friends that are Nigerian Dwarf breeders in Minnesota - then I am sure you have heard that there is an outbreak of Johnes in Minnesota. It started on one "tested clear" farm that brought in a bunch of untested goats who carried Johnes. These goats then infected this farms other goats. They then sold many goats to many farms in Minnesota. One of these farms is even in our Bemidji area - who had to have a goat put down because of the Johnes infection a couple weeks ago. If you are not familiar with Johnes, then I would like to explain more about the disease, how to test for it, why it is important to purchase from tested clear herds, and let you know what we are doing about that positive test that happened so close to us.
Johnes, what is Johnes?
Johnes (Mycobacterium avium subspecies paratuberculosis (MAP) or paratuberculosis): Johnes is a deadly contagious gastrointestinal disease that can infect all ruminate animals (goats, cows, deer, etc). It stays in the soil and contaminates your land for many months. It is very similar to chronic wasting disease in goats and Crohns disease in humans. It is spread through feces (thus the contamination of the land), milk, and in the womb. The most common time for infection is from in the womb to 6 months. There is no cure. One of the best sites available to learn about Johnes is here.
What is the best way to avoid Johnes?
The answer to that is very simple. Do not get in the first place. Bio-security is an important part of farming. Purchasing animals from tested clear herds is the number one way to prevent bringing Johnes on your farm in the first place. The tested animals may cost more to purchase (we spent around $700 disease testing our animals last year - so our animals will cost more then ones that are not tested), but that would save you from having to put down your infected animals (some farms this could be thousands), the loss of sales as word gets out there is Johnes on your farm (any decent farm should notify sellers of the possibly risk), the cost involved in repeat future testing to try and eliminate Johnes, the cost and work involved of having a separate area for kids to be pulled to try to prevent contamination, and so on and so forth. As you can see, the "expensive" disease tested goat is not really as expensive as you think it is when you bring in a disease that can infect and kill your herd.
Other things that help prevent is:
1. Do not rent out your buck or rent bucks from other breeders.
2. Have "farm shoes" and "town shoes" when walking the farm.
3. Do not constantly buy new animals - every new animal is a risk.
4. KNOW your breeder you are purchasing from so you know they are honest.
5. Verify test results - GET COPIES! Make sure it is herd wide test results.
6. If you show or bring in new animals, always quarantine
How Do You Test for Johnes?
The most common and cheapest testing method is the one we use. It is a blood ELISA test - designed to detect the presence of antibody to Mycobacterium paratuberculosis in the blood. Now this is a HERD identifier. Meaning it is used in larger herds to detect the presence of Johnes. If one animal in the herd test positive it is likely through the entire herd. This test is NOT meant to be used on individual animals or small farms with only acouple animals. The Johnes bacteria is only present randomly. A positive goat will only randomly slough off the bacteria so unless a single animal has consecutive negative blood tests - there is no verification that goat is not positive for Johnes. There are alot of farms that think they can buy from herds that do not test and can test their new animal by blood and that it is confirmed disease free - but that is not the case. We go through UBRL for our blood testing.
This brings us to the other main type of testing. That is PCR Fecal Testing. This is a much more accurate INDIVIDUAL or small farm test. It is more expensive so it is not commonly used by larger herds unless they have a positive blood. If you have a sick animal for instance, then this would be the desired test to be preformed. If you have a positive blood test, then this method should then be used herd wide to verify which goats in your herd are indeed positive and which are negative. This test will have to be preformed for several years, culling infected animals, along with several other items to then remove Johnes from your herd. We go through NDSU for our PCR Testing.
When Should You Test Your Goats For Johnes?
Once a year for annual verification - after the goat is 12-18 months of age as it is not accurate before that.
When you bring new animals to your farm before they are let in with your animals.
When a goat has chronic diarrhea, weight loss, and fecal's are negative for parasites.
What Are We Doing About the Positive Test in Our Area?
Even though we blood test every year, purchase from disease tested clear herds, do not rent out our bucks, have "farm shoes" and "town shoes" to prevent contamination, and do not let visitors on our farm or show our animals, we wanted to let everyone purchasing from us be confident in our disease status. There is so much misinformation online stating "blood tests are not accurate". As explained above - a negative herd wide blood test, especially several years in a row, is accurate - and that is what we have. BUT, we ran the more accurate PCR fecal test on all our animals above 12 months of age to give confidence to our buyers. I am attaching results below. We also will be 100% closing our farm this year. We are purchasing some unrelated stock from some exceptional lines (that are PCR testing their herds) and will not be bringing in any new animals for years. With each new animal - even from tested herds - there is always a risk. That is a risk we do not want to take, especially with all that is going on in MN now.
Anything Else Do You Suggest For My Farm?
Johnes is receiving alot of publicity now with the outbreak, but it isn't the only disease that is a concern to your herd. CAE is a common disease most frequently spread from mom to kids through the milk. It can cause a deadly arthritic condition in goats and encephalitis in kids. CL is another bacteria that can infect your property that is also zoonotic (can be spread to people). Both CAE & CL can be tested for by blood or abscess. We test clear for both annually.
There are other viruses and diseases that can be spread that are not testable. Sore Mouth and Clamydia are both zoonotic, can be brought in by new animals, or spread by renting out your buck.
If I could leave the readers with three words - it would be bio-security, bio-security, bio-security. The animals are the real ones that suffer because of breeders poor decisions. Don't risk your healthy animals or start your farm off poorly by buying that "cheap" goat - because you very likely could be getting what you pay for. A sick goat.
***Disclaimer: We are simple farmers and not veterinarians. This is for informational purposes only. What we do on our farm may not be what is best for your farm so please do your own research. This is not intended to replace professional veterinary and/or medical advice. We disclaim all liability in connection with the use of these products and/or information.
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