Paratuberculosis on small ruminant dairy farms in Ontario, Canada: A survey of management practices.

Abstract

A cross-sectional study was undertaken (October 2010 to August 2011) to determine the risk factors for dairy goat herds and dairy sheep flocks testing positive for paratuberculosis (PTB) in Ontario, Canada. A questionnaire was administered to 50 producers during a farm visit in which concurrently, 20 randomly selected, lactating animals over the age of 2 years underwent sampling for paratuberculosis testing. Only 1 of 50 farms (2.0%) was closed to animal movement, whereas 96.6% of dairy goat farms and 94.1% of sheep farms purchased livestock from other producers. Only 10.3% of dairy goat, and no dairy sheep farms used artificial insemination. Manure was spread on grazing pastures by 65.5% and 70.6% of dairy goat and dairy sheep farms, respectively. Because of the high true-prevalence of paratuberculosis infection detected, no risk factor analysis could be performed. This study demonstrates that biosecurity practices conducive to transmission of PTB are highly prevalent in Ontario small ruminant dairy farms.