BOVINE Johne's disease has shrugged its stigma of the past.

No longer is it the taboo subject that's rarely discussed.

Many dairy farmers have decided to tackle the disease head-on for the sake of their business.

Dairy Australia risk-analysis manager Robin Condron said the industry's attitude to BJD had changed in the past four to five years due to a better understanding of the disease and adoption of eradication programs.

"It's part of responsible farming," Dr Condron said of dealing with BJD.

"(It's about) protection of their investment, the status of the farm and the ability to trade-in stock."

Underpinning the control of BJD spread and minimising its occurrence have been three points.

These include ensuring the health of any animal introduced into the herd gets checked, investigating any sick or suspected BJD cases - culling if necessary - and hygienic calf rearing.

Hygienic calf rearing includes involvement in the Johne's Disease Calf Accreditation Program or the auditable three-step calf plan.

"The principles of Johne's disease control treatments are straight forward," Dr Condron said.

"The difference is that farmers need to apply (them) to all animals, every day of the year."

According to Dairy Australia figures 80 per cent of Victorian dairy farmers have adopted the recommended hygienic calf rearing practices, while 14 per cent are accredited under the JDCAP.

Describing the JDCAP as the "deluxe" option when it comes to hygienic calf rearing, Dr Condron said rearing to eradicate BJD from a herd does require "extra work and effort" but the challenges and solution vary from farmer to farmer.

He said some farmers often obtained additional land away from the milking herd and the older animals to rear calves.

The impact of BJD varies greatly between farms as the milk production of infected cows only begins to drop-off in the last stages of the clinical disease.

Dr Condron said eradicating BJD was more about the reputation of the industry and the ability to trade animals, therefore it was common for stud breeders to be impacted more than commercial operators.

In terms of BJD control, Dr Condron said Australia was "fortunate" that although the disease was widespread in southeast Australia it had a low prevalence in herds.

He said this reflected the control measures, some of which have been copied by other countries to deal with BJD.

THE ABC OF BJD

BOVINE Johne's disease is an infection in cattle caused by the bacterium Mycobacterium paratuberculosis.

It develops slowly and eventually causes wasting and chronic diarrhoea that will result in an animal's premature death.

Infected cattle may pass  large numbers of bacteria in their manure, contaminating the farm environment even when they are showing no clinical signs of infection. There is no treatment for BJD.

Source: Dairy Australia, What's the score with BJD?

  • For more information on BJD, contact your local veterinarian or visit the Dairy Australia website.