The 12th International Colloquium on Paratuberculosis (ICP) was held June 22-27, 2014, in Parma, Italy. It was also a celebration of the 25th anniversary of the founding of the International Association for Paratuberculosis (IAP), the sponsoring organization. The ICP brings together veterinary and human medical researchers, educators and livestock industry representatives to share current work on paratuberculosis (Johne’s disease).

Johne’s disease and mastitis are two of the most economically important diseases affecting the Canadian dairy industry.

To improve the control of these infectious diseases and reduce the limiting effects they have on the productivity of the industry, Dr. Herman Barkema from the University of Calgary Faculty of Veterinary Medicine was appointed as the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) Industrial Research Chair in Infectious Diseases of Dairy Cattle.

Johne's disease (pronounced yo-KNEES) is a condition of cattle and all other ruminants (both domestic and wild) that causes chronic diarrhea, weight loss, infertility, and eventual death in animals that are infected years earlier.

There has been a good deal of confusing information concerning the causative agent in bovine pinkeye over the past few years. Quality veterinary medical diagnostic laboratories around the country have reported the isolation of Branhamella ovis or Moraxella ovis from clinical cases of pinkeye patients. M. ovis is a spherical-shaped (coccoid) organism as opposed to the typical short “rod-shaped” Moraxella bovis.

Johne’s disease remains a significant threat to the dairy industry worldwide, even though knowledge and tools are available to effectively relegate these bacteria back to their native environment – the soil. In the research laboratory, there are many obstacles to developing solutions for Johne’s. On the farm, however, there appear to be just three: anxiety, prioritization and inaction.

Johne’s disease is a persistent and debilitating bacterial disease that affects the intestines of ruminant animals. The common routes of infection are via ingestion of colostrum or milk contaminated by infected cows. For this reason, Johne’s prevention strategies revolve around calf management and herd testing.

Infection can also occur when feed contaminated with manure containing the MAP pathogen is eaten, particularly by youngstock. For this reason, manure application to forages is a potential source of infection.