What is Ovine Johnes disease?
Ovine Johne’s disease (OJD) is a wasting disease of sheep. It can affect goats and deer, other than fallow deer, but does not affect cattle. It is caused by the sheep strain of the bacterium Mycobacterium paratuberculosis. Johne’s disease affects animals by causing a thickening of the intestinal wall which blocks the normal absorption of food. The animal continues to eat but has a reduced capacity to absorb nutrients from the intestines. Affected sheep lose condition and finally die. As opposed to Bovine Johne’s disease in cattle, sheep affected by OJD do not necessarily show diarrhoea.
