Johne’s disease control programme aims to target €23m loss to dairy industry
Johne’s disease is a chronic, incurable and ultimately fatal condition and is a slow-progressing wasting disease
With Johne’s disease costing the dairy industry up to €23m a year, a new control programme has been launched.
The new programme, aimed at controlling the disease on Irish farms, has been launched by Animal Health Ireland (AHI).
The programme is aimed at supporting beef and dairy farmers in controlling the difficult and costly disease.
Johne’s disease is a chronic, incurable and ultimately fatal condition and is a slow-progressing wasting disease. Clinical signs will be observed over a number of years, with cattle being drained of condition, fertility and milk yield, and it could spread silently among a herd before signs are visible in the initial animal.
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AHI has estimated the disease costs the Irish dairy industry between €11.4m and €23.85m a year, driven mainly by lost milk yield, premature culling and reduced cull value.
The new programme aims to support farmers to effectively control Johne’s disease while also providing a progression plan for each registered Irish Johne’s Control Programme (IJCP) herd to improve its Johne’s health status over time.
The IJCP has three major objectives: to provide a framework for farmers with low-risk herds to demonstrate higher confidence in the infection status of their herd; to support farmers with infected herds to reduce the rate of new infection and manage the existing one; and to identify farms at high risk of introducing Johne’s disease, providing opportunities to help manage the risk.
The new IJCP has three key components, each designed by the technical working group (TWG) to inform, educate and support farmers to take control of the situation:
- This shows the farmer where their herd stands overall, pulling the whole herd's Johne's picture over a period of time into one clear view;
- This focuses on the animal level, flagging the specific cows and bulls causing concern so they can inform testing, management and culling decisions;
- This tracks the herd's journey over time, showing how it is advancing through the programme against its own targets.
Farmers who are eligible to join the programme will also receive free veterinary support through the targeted advisory service on animal health to guide them on their journey.
Johne's disease programme manager at AHI Liam Doyle said: "Johne's disease is one of the most serious, debilitating and costly diseases affecting Irish livestock farms.
"Once it makes its way into a herd, it will lead to wasting of individual animals, but it is the unseen impact it has on many other areas such as fertility, lameness, mastitis and yield where it really impacts.
"Although incurable, Johne's disease is something that can be controlled through patient and strategic management of the disease.”
"There is a huge prize for farmers and the entire agri industry to be involved in the new IJCP — healthier herds, improved profitability and an enhanced reputation."
Chair of the Johne's Disease technical working group Professor Conor McAloon said: "Johne's disease does not develop dramatically in your herd; in fact, unchecked it will spread slowly and progressively over years.
For every sick animal, many more are infected without a farmer even knowing. This is the basis for the work we have done as a TWG in developing a new control programme that will last the test of time and support an industry that needs to effectively tackle the disease.”
