Issue 8 - The Next Big Concern? 

The big news isn't necessarily new news.

Rising feed costs have forced the cattle industry to evaluate ways to maximize efficiency.  At the same time, dramatic change with electronic identification is on the cusp of taking place.  Yet a continuing focus remains on the ability of being able to control what is vital - animal health.  Significant strides have been made in battling the two billion dollar crisis that Bovine Viral Diarrhea has cost this industry on an annual basis.  Animal Profiling International continues to support this effort as well.  But there are other threats out there and while they haven't grown to be as costly as BVD, we believe information to create awareness about these growing issues is extremely important.

A disease of high concern showing up "on-the-radar" in the cattle industry is Johne's Disease.  As I travel the country, Johne's has become a primary topic of conversation in both beef and dairy operations.

Johne's disease is a contagious, chronic and usually fatal infection caused by a bacteria related to the agents of leprosy and tuberculosis (mycobacterium paratuberculosis) Signs of the disease include weight loss and diarrhea with a normal appetite.  Several weeks after this "bottle jaw" a soft swelling under the jaw may occur - animals at this stage will not live very long, a few weeks at most.  Like BVD, a major problem with Johne's are the lack of detectable symptoms of the disease until it is too late.  Signs of Johne's in an animal are rarely evident for two or more years after initial infection which most commonly occurs shortly after birth.

U.S. Dairies performed a national study on Johne's finding that 22 percent of dairy farms have at least ten percent of the herd infected with this disease.  The cost of this?  The study found that these herds experienced an average loss of $40 per cow in herds with a low Johne's disease clinical cull rate and an average loss of $227 per cow in herds with a high rate.  Losses in beef herds have yet to be determined.

Sound management practices are available to minimize the spread and impact of Johne's.  Diagnostic tests are available although the current levels of accuracy, timing, and length of turnaround are a concern. 

API is continuing towards our mission of assisting operations to use less medicine through testing in order to help maximize management skills to positively impact the profitablility of beef and dairy operations. 

Are there issues out there right now where you need low-cost testing solutions? Contact us and let us know - we want to help!

Thanks for reading Herd Mentality!

Regards,

Bruce W. Hoffman, DVM
President
Animal Profiling International

If you have any comments about the information in this newsletter, e-mail us at hq@animalprofiling.com.  We want to hear from you.

© 2005. Herd Mentality is produced and distributed by Animal Profiling International, a technology company dedicated to animal health. You can subscribe to the newsletter at the Animal Profiling International Website.