Paratuberculosis : Conventional and Molecular Surveillance

The status of Johne's disease amongst farm animals which included dairy cows and sheep of different breeds and ages was assessed by a variety of diagnostic tests in 13 different zones besides animals brought for slaughter at the local abattoir, organized farms and a cattle shelter. The seroprevalence of JD in 13 different areas was 12.24 %. The prevalence by acid fast examination and IS 900 PCR was 10.77 % and 21.70 % respectively. The isolation of the bacteria by culture was attempted in samples which were positive by acid fast examination. These samples were processed for culture in Middlebrook (MB) 7H9 broth. The bacterial isolates obtained by culture were subjected to IS 900 PCR and restriction enzyme analysis revealed Bison type. The economic loss due to paratuberculosis was calculated. The approximate total loss due to paratuberculosis in cattle was 180 USD /year/animal.