What is Johnes Disease?
Johnes disease is caused by the bacterium Mycobacterium paratuberculosis. It is an infectious disease of cattle and other ruminants. Johnes is a chronic disease taking years to develop, characterized by a failure to thrive, reduced productivity, weight loss, diarrhea, and death. Johnes costs the cattle industry millions of dollars annually in lost animals and production. It is recommended that herds undergo Johnes disease risk assessment and education to control the introduction or spread of this disease. There currently are funds available from the USDA for risk assessment programs to be completed for you by our practice, at no cost to producers.
Johne’s Disease is a chronic, debilitating, infection of the intestinal tract. It occurs primarily in cattle, sheep and goats but can affect other ruminant species. Medical researchers have associated the presence of Johne’s organisms in intestinal tract tissues with Crohn’s disease in humans but have not shown the association to be causative.
