Control of paratuberculosis in five cattle farms and the findings of new infected animals during 1990-2000

This study involved five co-operative farms (M, HJ, H, C and NT) with a total of 1490 dairy cows, 1100 calves, and 1300 heifers. Paratuberculosis was diagnosed for the first time in 1989 in farm M and, slowly, the disease spread into another four farms HJ, H, C and NT [2]. During the years 1990-1992, a paratuberculosis control programme was adopted on all farms on the basis of three annual serological tests from Bioveta Ivanovice na Hane (Czech Republic) of all 18-month old animals by AGID (agar-gel-immunodiffusion), by CFT (complement fixation test) and by ELISA [1]. In the following years, 1993-2000, a 1-2x serological. test (IDT a CFT) and faecal. cultivation was performed [3]. All twice serologically positive reactors within 6-8 weeks and faecal shedders were culled from the herd, including clinically suspect animals.