Johnes Disease Prevention

Because it is in the environment, spread through infected pastures and waterways, Johne's Disease is very contagious. It can only be limited by good hygiene practices - separating calves from dams after initial feeding of colostrum and minimising contact between young and old animals.

Breeding management

This disease can be transmitted between generations, so management starts with the planning of breeding, including only to purchase bulls free of Johne's Disease and only to breed, especially replacements, from cows in good health.

Calf management

Hygiene with young calves is paramount in Johne's Disease control programmes, especially avoiding faecal contamination from older cows:

Immediate post calving management needs care. Each calf has to receive sufficient colostrum from a healthy dam. Where dam health has not been properly considered then cross feeding of colostrum from another or mixture of dams potentially carries a significant risk
Early separation after birth of the calf from the cow early is important provided it can be guaranteed that adequate colostrum has been fed
Ensure calves do not graze in hospital paddocks

Herd management

A herd health plan applied to every herd on the farm is essential. Maintaining a closed herd as the best insurance to prevent disease entry.

When developing or updating your herd plan engage your veterinarian and include all young stock too. Good agricultural practices for animal health include:

Ensuring that young stock are at least two years old prior to contact with adult stock
Not mixing groups of young animals from separate locations until a quarantine period has been observed
Managing the herd to resist disease including:
- Preventing entry of disease onto the farm
- Isolating sick animals
- Practising good hygiene and pest control
- Using all chemicals and veterinary medicines as prescribed
- Training people appropriately.