The Impact of Paratuberculosis on Milk Production, Fertility, and Culling in Large Commercial Hungarian Dairy Herds

Abstract

Paratuberculosis (PTBC) is a chronic disease caused by Mycobacterium avium subsp. paratuberculosis (MAP), which is common in dairy herds worldwide, although the scale of its impact on herd productivity is unclear. The aim of our study was to determine the differences between MAP ELISA positive vs. negative cows in terms of milk production and quality, reproductive parameters, and culling. The data of five large dairy herds that participated in the voluntary PTBC testing program in Hungary were analyzed. Cows were tested by ELISA (IDEXX Paratuberculosis Screening Ab Test, IDEXX Laboratories, Inc., Westbrook, ME, USA) using milk samples collected during official performance testing. The outcome of the initial screening test involving all milking cows in the herds was used for the classification of the cows. The 305-day milk production, reproduction and culling data of 4,341 dairy cows, and their monthly performance testing results (n = 87,818) were analyzed. Multivariate linear and logistic models, and right censored tobit model were used for the statistical analysis. Test-day and 305-day milk production of ELISA positive cows decreased by 4.6 kg [95% CI: 3.5-5.6 kg, P < 0.0001 (−13.2%)] and 1,030 kg [95% CI: 708-1,352 kg, P < 0.0001 (−9.4%)], compared to their ELISA negative herdmates, respectively. Milk ELISA positive cows had 35.8% higher [95% CI: 17.9-56.4%, P < 0.0001] somatic cell count, on average. Test positive cows conceived 23.2 days later [95% CI: 9.2-37.3 days, P = 0.0012 (+16.5%)] and their calving interval was 33.8 days longer [95% CI: 13.2-54.4 days, P = 0.0013, (+9.7%)], compared to the negative cows, on average. Milk ELISA positive cows were less likely to conceive to first insemination (odds ratio: 0.49, 95% CI: 0.31-0.75, P = 0.0013), and required 0.42 more inseminations to conceive [95% CI: 0.07-0.77, P = 0.0192 (+13.7%)], on average. Milk ELISA positive cows were culled 160.5 days earlier after testing compared to their ELISA negative herdmates (95% CI: 117.5-203.5 days, P < 0.0001). Our results suggest that MAP ELISA positive cows experience decreased milk production, milk quality, fertility, and longevity, which supports the need to control the prevalence of PTBC in dairy herds.

Estimating the burden of multiple endemic diseases and health conditions using Bayes’ Theorem: A conditional probability model applied to UK dairy cattle

“…Diseases and conditions ranked in order of decreasing impact. Disease/condition Impact (% increase) Reference Lameness 12.47 a Hernandez et al (2005) Cystic ovary 11.26 b Laporte et al (1994) Neosporosis 7.21 Kamga-Waladjo et al (2010) Dystocia 6.96 Gaafar et al (2011) Paratuberculosis 5.79 c Ozsvari et al (2020) Metritis 4.74 d Fourichon et al (2000) Retained placenta 2.74 e Fourichon et al (2000) Subclinical ketosis 1.50 f Fourichon et al (2000) GIN disease 1.20 g Walsh et al (1995) Displaced abomasum 0.00 Fourichon et al (2000) Mastitis 0.00 Fourichon et al (2000) Milk fever 0.00 Fourichon et al (2000) Fasciolosis 0.00 Mezo et al (2011) ; Howell et al (2015) a Median time to conception was 50 days longer among lame cows in the study, which is equivalent to a 12.5% increase in calving interval assuming a mean equivalent to the UK value ( Table 1 ). b Study indicated that cows with cystic ovarian disease (COD) had a mean calving interval of 425 days whereas cows without COD had a mean calving interval of 382 days, equivalent to an 11.3% increase.…”

Paratuberculosis bovina, revisión de literatura

“…Esta patología lleva a una infección que desencadena un proceso inflamatorio crónico granulomatoso a nivel intestinal en rumiantes domésticos y salvajes (Mallikarjunappa et al, 2020;McAloon et al, 2019). Aunque es común en dichos rumiantes, tiene elevada prevalencia en los hatos lecheros, lo cual genera graves consecuencias económicas y efectos adversos sobre el bienestar animal (Espinosa et al, 2020;Ozsvari et al, 2020;Sanchez et al, 2020).…”

Use of ATP-Binding Cassette Subfamily A Member 13 (ABCA13) for Sensitive Detection of Focal Pathological Forms of Subclinical Bovine Paratuberculosis

“…PTB produces important economic losses in dairy herds worldwide due to increase in mortality, decrease in milk production, weight loss, premature culling and reduced slaughter value (1)(2)(3)(4). PTB has also been related to reduced fertility rates (5,6) and increased susceptibility to other diseases, particularly mammary infections (7). The importance of this disease would be even greater when considering its zoonotic potential and the risk of transmission of viable Map through pasteurized milk and milk products (8)(9)(10).…”