Attempted Control of Paratuberculosis in Dairy Calves by Only Changing the Quality of Milk Fed to Calves

Abstract

One of the important routes of Mycobacterium avium subsp. paratuberculosis (MAP) transmission in dairy calves is milk. The aim of the present study was to assess the efficacy of milk treatments to prevent MAP infection transmission to calves. A one-year longitudinal study was carried out. Newborn calves were assigned to one of four experimental groups: 5 calves received naturally MAP-contaminated milk, 5 calves received copper treated milk, 4 calves were fed calf milk replacer, and 3 were fed UHT pasteurized milk. MAP load in milk was estimated. Infection progression was monitored monthly. After one year, calves were euthanized, and tissue samples were cultured and visually examined. MAP was undetectable in milk replacer and UHT milk. Copper ion treatment significantly reduced the number of viable MAP in naturally contaminated milk. Fecal shedding of MAP was observed in all study groups but began earlier in calves fed naturally contaminated milk. Paratuberculosis control programs must place multiple hurdles between the infection source, MAP-infected adult cows, and the most susceptible animals on the farm, young calves. As our study shows, strict dependence on a single intervention to block infection transmission, no matter how important, fails to control this insidious infection on dairy farms.

Evidence of Homeostatic Regulation in Mycobacterium avium Subspecies paratuberculosis as an Adaptive Response to Copper Stress

“…It seems that MAP also has the ability to mount an adaptive response to a copper stressor, which would explain the observed tolerance to these stressors in some MAP cells [38,39]. Regarding the effect of copper on MAP, Tejeda et al [39] found that the cell wall of MAP did not suffer any type of alteration once treated with copper ions.…”

More Insights about the Efficacy of Copper Ion Treatment on Mycobacterium avium subsp. paratuberculosis (MAP): A Clue for the Observed Tolerance

“…The reported efficacy of copper ions in the control of MAP amounts to an interesting scientific finding and suggests a potential tool for the control of this important potential zoonotic pathogen [21]. The idea is to recommend the application of this decontaminating principle to block an important infection transmission route from the most infectious animals (cows) to the most susceptible animals (calves) via milk consumption [24].…”

Integrated Analysis of Transcriptome Profiles and lncRNA–miRNA–mRNA Competing Endogenous RNA Regulatory Network to Identify Biological Functional Effects of Genes and Pathways Associated with Johne’s Disease in Dairy Cattle

“…As JD is incurable, early detection and isolation of infected animals prior to shedding is critical to reduce disease incidence. Fecal PCR and serum ELISA have been widely used to detect infected cattle, but their sensitivity is low, as shedding occurs intermittently, and serum antibody titers against MAP only increase in late stages of infection [ 3 , 4 , 15 , 16 , 17 ]. Economic losses, animal welfare concerns, and potential zoonotic risks associated with JD have driven research to improve early diagnosis and new diagnostic techniques [ 18 , 19 ].…”