Use of age and milk production data to improve the ability of enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay test results to predict Mycobacterium avium ssp. paratuberculosis fecal culture status.

Cows from 2 California dairies were tested for paratuberculosis at the end of lactation by using fecal culture and a commercially available serum enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) test kit. Individual cow characteristics and production variables were evaluated along with ELISA testing results as predictors of fecal culture status. In multivariable logistic regression analysis, age and a herd-standardized version of 305-day mature equivalent (305 ME) milk production were significant predictors of fecal culture status after adjusting for herd, quarter of the study year, and ELISA sample-to-positive (S/P) ratio. The area under a nonparametric receiver operating characteristic curve was significantly greater for a multivariable model that included age and the level of milk production when compared with a model without these covariates. In conclusion, consideration of cow-level covariates was useful as an aid in predicting Mycobacterium avium ssp. paratuberculosis (MAP) fecal culture status. For a given ELISA S/P ratio, older cows and those with lower 305 ME milk production relative to other cows in the herd were significantly more likely to be shedding MAP in their feces at the end of lactation.     

Risk of removal and effects on milk production associated with paratuberculosis status in dairy cows

OBJECTIVE: To determine effects on production and risk of removal related to Mycobacterium avium subsp paratuberculosis (MAP) infection at the individual animal level in dairy cattle. DESIGN: Longitudinal study. ANIMALS: 7,879 dairy cows from 38 herds in 16 states. PROCEDURE: A subset of dairy cattle operations that participated in the National Animal Health Monitoring System Dairy 2002 study was evaluated via a serum ELISA for antibodies against MAP and categorized according to ELISA score. Dairy Herd Improvement Association records were obtained to collect current and historical lactation data and removal (ie, culling) information. Production variables were evaluated on the basis of serum ELISA category. RESULTS: Cows with strong positive results had mature equivalent (ME) 305-day milk production, ME 305-day maximum milk production, and total lifetime milk production that were significantly lower than cows in other categories. No differences were observed for ME 305-day fat and protein percentages, age, lactation, and lactation mean linear somatic cell count score between cows with strong positive results and those with negative results. After accounting for lactation number and relative herd-level milk production, cows with strong positive results were significantly more likely to have been removed by 1 year after testing. CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL RELEVANCE: Without management changes designed to reduce the farm-level prevalence of MAP infection, paratuberculosis will continue to reduce farm income by decreasing milk production and potentially increasing premature removal from the herd.     

Seroprevalence of Mycobacterium avium subsp paratuberculosis infection among dairy cows in Colorado and herd-level risk factors for seropositivity

OBJECTIVE: To estimate seroprevalence of Mycobacterium avium subsp paratuberculosis (MAP) infection among adult dairy cows in Colorado and determine herd-level factors associated with the risk that individual cows would be seropositive. DESIGN: Cross-sectional observational study. ANIMALS: 10,280 adult (> or = 2 years old) dairy cows in 15 herds in Colorado. PROCEDURE: Serum samples were tested with a commercial ELISA. A herd was considered to be infected with MAP if results of mycobacterial culture of > or = 1 individual cow fecal sample were positive or if > or = 1 culled cow had histologic evidence of MAP infection. RESULTS: 424 of the 10,280 (4.12%) cows were seropositive. Within-herd prevalence of seropositive cows ranged from 0% to 7.82% (mean, 2.6%). Infection was confirmed in 11 dairies. Cows in herds that had imported > or = 8% of their current herd size annually during the preceding 5 years were 3.28 times as likely to be seropositive as were cows in herds that imported < 8%. Cows in herds with > or = 600 lactating cows were 3.12 times as likely to be seropositive as were cows in herds with < 600 lactating cows. Cows in herds with a history of clinical signs of MAP infection were 2.27 times as likely to be seropositive as were cows in herds without clinical signs. CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL RELEVANCE: Annual importation rate, herd size, and whether cows in the herd had clinical signs typical of MAP infection were associated with the risk that individual cows would be seropositive for MAP infection.     

Evaluation of highly sensitive indigenous milk ELISA kit with fecal culture, milk culture and fecal-PCR for the diagnosis of bovine Johne's disease (BJD) in India

Country lacks indigenous diagnostic kits against Johne's disease in animals. Indigenous ELISA and IS 900 PCR kits, originally developed for goats and sheep, have been adapted for screening of lactating cows. Multiple diagnostic tests were used to screen 26 lactating dairy cows against Johne's disease. Milk ELISA was evaluated with fecal culture, milk culture and fecal PCR. Of the 26 samples from lactating cows, 84.6, 96.1, 88.4 and 23.0% were positive in fecal culture, milk culture, m-ELISA and m-PCR, respectively. Comparatively milk sediment and milk fat culture detected 84.6 and 76.9% cows positive, respectively. Comparatively fecal culture and milk culture detected 84.6 and 96.1% cows positive, respectively. M-ELISA detected 11.5, 0.0, 11.5, 61.0 and 15.3%, cows as negative, suspected, low positive, positive and strong positive, respectively. There was good correlation between milk and fecal culture with m-ELISA. Three negative cows in m-ELISA were also detected in milk and fecal culture. Of the 26 decontaminated fecal samples, 23.0% cows were positive using specific IS 900 f-PCR. Comparative evaluation of m-ELISA with fecal and milk culture showed agreement in 80.7 and 84.6% cows, respectively. Sensitivity of m-ELISA with respect to fecal and culture was 90.9 and 95.6%, respectively. Comparative evaluation of four tests (milk culture, fecal culture, m-ELISA and f-PCR) showed that only 15.3% cows were detected in all the four tests. In three tests (fecal and milk culture and m-ELISA), 57.6% cows were detected positive. None of the cow was exclusively detected in f-PCR. Of the four diagnostic tests used milk culture was most sensitive (96.15%), followed by fecal culture (86.6%), m-ELISA (76.9%) and IS 900 PCR (23.0%) for the diagnosis of bovine Johne's disease (BJD). Milk ELISA detected only one cow extra, which was negative in milk culture. In view of the simplicity, rapidity and efficacy present milk ELISA kit employing soluble protoplasmic antigen from native Map 'Bison type' genotype of goat origin can be reliable for screening of bovine population against Johne's disease in India.     

Longitudinal study to investigate variation in results of repeated ELISA and culture of fecal samples for Mycobacterium avium subsp paratuberculosis in commercial dairy herds

OBJECTIVE: To determine sources and amounts of variation in a kinetics ELISA (KELA) and results of culture of fecal samples for Mycobacterium avium subsp paratuberculosis (MAP) in repeated tests of individual cows. ANIMALS: 112 cows on 6 commercial dairy farms in New York. PROCEDURE: A nonrandom longitudinal study was conducted from January 2001 to March 2002. A KELA was performed monthly, and MAP culture was performed bimonthly. Cow- and herd-level data were collected. The KELA and culture results were analyzed by use of models that corrected for clustering within herds and repeated measures on cows. RESULTS: Cows of second or higher lactation had increased KELA values, compared with values for first-lactation cows. Cows had lowest KELA values during the first 15 days in milk; KELA values increased until 60 days in milk and then stabilized. Moderate and heavy shedders had significantly higher KELA values than culture-negative cows, and KELA values of shedders progressively increased over time. On average, the KELA value was significantly increased 132 days after a cow was first detected to be a moderate shedder and 236 days after a cow was first detected to be a low shedder. CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL RELEVANCE: Analysis suggests that KELA results vary on a cow-level on the basis of lactation number and stage of lactation. High KELA values indicate heavy fecal shedding, but the KELA is not useful in identifying low and moderate shedders that can require up to 236 days to have a significant increase in KELA value.     

Evaluation of enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays performed on milk and serum samples for detection of paratuberculosis in lactating dairy cows

OBJECTIVE: To determine whether results obtained for milk and serum samples with ELISAs intended for diagnosis of paratuberculosis in dairy cows were comparable to results obtained by means of mycobacterial culture of fecal samples. DESIGN: Cross-sectional study. ANIMALS: 689 lactating dairy cows in 9 Ontario herds. PROCEDURE: Milk, serum, and fecal samples were obtained from all cows. Fecal samples were submitted for mycobacterial culture. Serum samples were tested with a commercially available ELISA for antibodies against Mycobacterium paratuberculosis, and preserved milk samples were tested with an indirect ELISA for antibodies against M paratuberculosis. RESULTS: Results were positive for 130 of the 689 (18.9%) serum samples, 77 of the 689 (11.1%) milk samples, and 72 of the 689 (10.4%) fecal samples. The level of agreement between results for milk and serum samples was only moderate. Proportions of positive results for serum and fecal samples were significantly different, but proportions of positive results for milk and fecal samples were not significantly different. In addition, results for milk samples had a higher level of agreement with results of mycobacterial culture than did results for serum samples. CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL RELEVANCE: Results suggest that the indirect ELISA used on milk samples may be a convenient method of detecting paratuberculosis in dairy herds.     

A longitudinal study of gastrointestinal parasites in Canadian dairy farms. The value of an indirect Ostertagia ostertagi ELISA as a monitoring tool

The general objective of this study was to evaluate a crude Ostertagia ostertagi antigen enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) for monitoring gastrointestinal parasites in lactating dairy cattle. A longitudinal study of gastrointestinal parasites in lactating dairy cows was carried out in 38 herds in four provinces of Canada (Prince Edward Island, Quebec, Ontario and Saskatchewan) from September 1999 to October 2000. Bulk tank milk, cow milk, serum and fecal samples were collected monthly or quarterly from all these farms. Information on herd management factors was collected by a standard questionnaire and individual cow production data were obtained from an electronic database. The overall mean optical density ratio (ODR) was 0.30 and ranged from -0.05 to 1.55. Although a clear seasonal pattern was not observed, the ODR values tended to decrease during the housing period and start increasing in the spring before the cows went out to pasture. The second and third or greater lactation cows had significantly higher ODR values compared with first lactation animals. The individual cow ODR had a very low correlation with individual squared root fecal egg counts but showed a reasonably high correlation when herd averages values were computed (r=0.73). A moderate correlation (r approximately 0.50) between the bulk tank and herd average ODR was observed. Milk yield was negatively associated with individual cow milk ODR and a quadratic effect on ODR was observed for days in milk. Twenty-eight of the herds participated in a clinical trial of eprinomectin (Ivomec Eprinex) treatment at calving. The cow level ODR values determined late in the previous lactation had a marginally significant effect (P=0.07) on treatment response, suggesting that high OD cows responded better to the anthelmintic treatment. However, because of the small sample size available in this model, more research is needed to better understand this relationship. In conclusion, the indirect ELISA using an O. ostertagi crude antigen appears useful as a technique for monitoring gastrointestinal parasite burdens in adult dairy cows and holds promise as a potential predictor of response to anthelmintic treatment.     

Effect of Mycobacterium paratuberculosis infection on production, reproduction, and health traits in US Holsteins

Our objective was to estimate the effect of Mycobacterium paratuberculosis infection on milk, fat, and protein yield deviations, pregnancy rate, lactation somatic cell score, and projected total months in milk (productive life). A serum ELISA and fecal culture for M. paratuberculosis were performed on 4375 Holsteins in 232 DHIA herds throughout the US. Primarily first through third lactation cows (99% of total) were assayed for infection. Trait information (except productive life) was obtained for the lactation concurrent with disease tests. Productive life was total months in milk through a cow's life, which was projected if a cow was still milking. For most analyses, case definition for M. paratuberculosis infection was defined as either an ELISA S/P ratio>or=0.25 or a positive fecal culture for M. paratuberculosis or both. To determine if diagnostic test affected estimates, case definition was redefined to include only cows with ELISA S/P ratios>or=0.25 or only fecal culture-positive cows. Linear models were used to estimate effect of M. paratuberculosis infection on traits. M. paratuberculosis-infected cows (7.89% of cows) produced 303.9 kg less milk/lactation, 11.46 kg less fat/lactation, and 9.49 kg less protein/lactation (P相似文献   

Evaluation of microbial culture of pooled fecal samples for detection of Mycobacterium avium subsp paratuberculosis in large dairy herds

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate sensitivity of microbial culture of pooled fecal samples for detection of Mycobacterium avium subsp paratuberculosis (MAP) in large dairy herds and assess the use of the method for estimation of MAP prevalence. ANIMALS: 1,740 lactating cows from 29 dairy herds in California. PROCEDURE: Serum from each cow was tested by use of a commercial ELISA kit. Individual fecal samples were cultured and used to create pooled fecal samples (10 randomly selected fecal samples/pool; 6 pooled samples/herd). Sensitivity of MAP detection was compared between Herrold's egg yolk (HEY) agar and a new liquid culture method. Bayesian methods were used to estimate true prevalence of MAP-infected cows and herd sensitivity. RESULTS: Estimated sensitivity for pooled fecal samples among all herds was 0.69 (25 culture-positive pools/36 pools that were MAP positive). Sensitivity increased as the number of culture-positive samples in a pool increased. The HEY agar method detected more infected cows than the liquid culture method but had lower sensitivity for pooled fecal samples. Prevalence of MAP-infected cows was estimated to be 4% (95% probability interval, 2% to 6%) on the basis of culture of pooled fecal samples. Herd-level sensitivity estimate ranged from 90% to 100% and was dependent on prevalence in the population and the sensitivity for culture of pooled fecal samples. CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL RELEVANCE: Use of pooled fecal samples from 10 cows was a cost-effective tool for herd screening and may provide a good estimate of the percentage of MAP-infected cows in dairy herds with a low prevalence of MAP.     

Effect of paratuberculosis on culling, milk production, and milk quality in dairy herds

OBJECTIVE: To determine the effect of paratuberculosis on culling, milk production, and milk quality in infected dairy herds. DESIGN: Cross-sectional study. ANIMALS: 689 lactating dairy cows in 9 herds. PROCEDURE: Milk, blood, and fecal samples were obtained from all cows. Fecal samples were evaluated via mycobacterial culture. Serum samples were tested with a commercially available ELISA for antibodies against Mycobacterium avium subsp paratuberculosis, and preserved milk samples were tested with an ELISA for antibodies against M paratuberculosis. Mixed effect and proportional hazards models were used to determine the effect of paratuberculosis on 305-day milk, fat, and protein production; somatic cell count linear score; and the risk of culling. RESULTS: Cows with positive results of bacteriologic culture of feces and milk ELISA produced less milk, fat, and protein, compared with herdmates with negative results. No difference in 305-day milk or fat production was detected in cows with positive results of serum ELISA, compared with seronegative cows. The 3 survival analyses revealed that cows with positive results of each test were at higher risk of being culled than cows with negative results. Paratuberculosis status, as determined by use of all 3 diagnostic tests, was not associated with milk somatic cell count linear score. CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL RELEVANCE: Results suggest that for the 9 herds in this study, paratuberculosis significantly decreased milk production and cow longevity.     

Evaluation of serum and milk ELISAs for paratuberculosis in Danish dairy cattle

A milk and a serum ELISA for detection of antibodies against Mycobacterium avium ssp. paratuberculosis (MAP) were evaluated against the complement-fixation test (CFT) and culture of faecal samples from 580 cows collected between August 1996 and December 1996. Milk and serum were obtained concurrently from six dairy herds infected with MAP and from two dairy herds without history of infection with MAP.

A cut-off value of 7 OD% was used in the ELISAs. At this cut-off value, all six culture-positive herds were positive in the serum ELISA but one was negative in the milk ELISA. All six culture-positive herds were positive in the CFT. In the two culture-negative herds, the serum and the milk ELISA deemed all serum samples negative at this cut-off value, whereas four serum samples from one of these herds were positive in the CFT. The highest cut-off value enabling the milk ELISA to record all six culture-positive herds as positive was 4 OD%. The highest cut-off value enabling the serum ELISA to record all six culture-positive herds as positive was 17 OD%. Individual-sample relative sensitivities of the ELISAs ranged from 49 to 64% and relative specificities were 80–96% at the cut-off values of 4, 7 and 17 OD%.     

Paratuberculosis sero-status and milk production,SCC and calving interval in Irish dairy herds

The objective of this study was to investigate the impact of paratuberculosis sero-status on milk yield, fat, protein, somatic cell count and calving interval in Irish dairy herds. Serum from all animals over 12 months of age (n = 2,602) in 34 dairy herds was tested for antibodies to Mycobacterium avium subsp. paratuberculosis using an ELISA. Herds were categorised by sero-status into positive, non-negative and negative, where a positive herd contained two or more positive cows, a non-negative herd contained only one positive cow and a negative herd contained no positive cows. Data at animal, parity and herd-level were analysed by multiple regression using general linear models. Positive herds (mean herd size = 129 cows) and non-negative herds (81 cows) were larger than negative herds (72 cows) (P < 0.01). Negative herds had the highest economic breeding index (EBI), while positive herds had the highest estimated breeding value (EBV) for milk yield. There was no significant effect of paratuberculosis sero-status at animal, parity or herd-level on milk yield, milk fat or protein production, somatic cell count score (SCCS) or calving interval. Negative herds tended to have a lower SCCS than positive and nonnegative herds (P = 0.087). This study only examined the effects of paratuberculosis sero-status but did not examine the clinical effects of Johne's disease at the farm or dairy industry levels.     

Sensitivity of test strategies used in the Voluntary Johne's Disease Herd Status Program for detection of Mycobacterium paratuberculosis infection in dairy cattle herds

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate sensitivities at the herd level of test strategies used in the Voluntary Johne's Disease Herd Status Program (VJDHSP) and alternative test strategies for detecting dairy cattle herds infected with Mycobacterium paratuberculosis. DESIGN: Nonrandom cross-sectional study. SAMPLE POPULATION: 64 dairy herds from Pennsylvania, Minnesota, Colorado, Ohio, and Wisconsin. Fifty-six herds had at least 1 cow shedding M. paratuberculosis in feces; the other 8 herds were free from paratuberculosis. PROCEDURE: For all adult cows in each herd, serum samples were tested for antibodies to M. paratuberculosis with an ELISA, and fecal samples were submitted for bacterial culture for M. paratuberculosis. Sensitivities at the herd level (probability of detecting infected herd) of various testing strategies were then evaluated. RESULTS: Sensitivity at the herd level of the testing strategy used in level 1 of the VJDHSP (use of the ELISA to test samples from 30 cows followed by confirmatory bacterial culture of feces from cows with positive ELISA result) ranged from 33 to 84% for infected herds, depending on percentage of cows in the herd with positive bacterial culture results. If follow-up bacterial culture was not used to confirm positive ELISA results, sensitivity ranged from 70 to 93%, but probability of identifying uninfected herds as infected was 89%. CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL RELEVANCE: Results suggest that the testing strategy used in the VJDHSP will fail to identify as infected most dairy herds with a low prevalence of paratuberculosis. A higher percentage of infected herds was detected if follow-up bacterial culture was not used, but this test strategy was associated with a high probability of misclassifying uninfected herds.     

Relationship between antibodies against Mycobacterium avium subsp. paratuberculosis in milk and shape of lactation curves

To analyze how infection with Mycobacterium avium subsp. paratuberculosis (MAP) affects the shape of lactation curves, a three-level hierarchical test-day model was set up with fat-corrected test-day milk yield (FCTM) as response. Milk samples from 6955 cows in 108 Danish dairy herds were tested with ELISA to detect antibodies against MAP. Optical densities (ODs) recorded on a continuous scale were standardized according to parity and stage of lactation. In addition to standardized ODs (stOD), seven fixed covariates, quadratic terms and first-order interactions were included in the model. Cow and cow nested in herd were included as random effects. Cows of first, second and higher parities were analyzed separately. The lactation curves after peak yield were significantly less persistent in young infected cows, where an increase of one stOD unit was associated with a depression of the milk yield per day through day 305 of 3.7 kg FCTM in first parity and 2.7 kg FCTM in second parity. In second-parity cows, the lactation curve also was both depressed through the entire lactation and more steep after 60 days in milk (DIM). In third and older parities, a significant effect of the quadratic term of stOD indicated exponentially increased losses with increased ODs.     

Evaluation of cost-effectiveness of targeted sampling methods for detection of Mycobacterium avium subsp paratuberculosis infection in dairy herds

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the epidemiologic and financial impacts of targeted sampling of subpopulations of cows, compared with random sampling of all cows, for classification of dairy herd infection status for paratuberculosis. ANIMALS: All cows from 4 infected herds with a low-to-moderate prevalence of paratuberculosis and from 1 noninfected herd in California. PROCEDURE: The infection status of each cow was classified on the basis of results of an ELISA or combined ELISA and fecal culture results. Thirteen sampling schemes designed to randomly sample cows on the basis of lactation number, stage of lactation, and milk production were evaluated. Sampling without replacement was used to obtain a probability of herd detection of paratuberculosis for each evaluated sampling method and for simulated sample sizes between 30 and 150 cows. Marginal cost-effectiveness analysis was used to determine the cost increase relative to the increase in detection probability. RESULTS: Sampling cows in the third or higher lactation and > or = 200 days into lactation yielded the highest detection probability in most instances, resulting in a detection probability that was 1.4 to 2.5 times that obtained by sampling 30 cows in the second or higher lactation. Costs of testing via the alternative method with a 95% detection probability were approximately dollar 300 lower in a high-prevalence herd (31%) and dollar 800 lower in a low-prevalence herd (9%), compared with use of the reference method. CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL RELEVANCE: Detection of herds with paratuberculosis could be improved, and costs of testing substantially reduced by sampling targeted groups of cows.     

Association of severity of enteric granulomatous inflammation with disseminated Mycobacterium avium subspecies paratuberculosis infection and antemortem test results for paratuberculosis in dairy cows

Disseminated infection (DI) of Mycobacterium avium subspecies paratuberculosis (MAP) in cattle may impair cow health, potentiate spread of disease, and is a potential food-safety risk. The objectives of this study were to determine the association between severity of histologic enteric lesions and the occurrence of DI, clinical signs, and positive fecal culture and serum ELISA results. Bacteriologic fecal culture and serum ELISA were performed on 40 dairy cows from MAP-infected herds. Cows were classified as having DI if MAP was isolated from any of 11 extra-intestinal tissues collected postmortem. A grade of 0-3, corresponding to the severity of histologically evident granulomatous inflammation was determined for sections of ileum, jejunum, mesenteric lymph node, and ileocolic lymph node. An overall intestinal inflammation (OII) grade of 0-3 was assigned to each cow. The proportion of cows with DI increased with tissue-specific lesion grade and OII grade. All cows with grade 3 inflammation in any single tissue had DI, however, some cows with DI had grade 1 inflammation or no lesions. In general, there was a positive association between OII grade and clinical signs, gross enteric lesions, and positive ELISA and fecal culture results. However, 12% of OII grade 0 cows had clinical signs (explained by other conditions recognized with necropsy), and the proportion of positive ELISA results was lower for OII grade 3 cows relative to grade 2 cows. Although MAP dissemination may occur early in the disease process, histopathology of intestinal tissues may be used to detect a substantial proportion of DI cows.     

Bovine viral diarrhoea virus seroprevalence and vaccination usage in dairy and beef herds in the Republic of Ireland

Background

Bovine viral diarrhoea (BVD) is an infectious disease of cattle with a worldwide distribution. Herd-level prevalence varies among European Union (EU) member states, and prevalence information facilitates decision-making and monitoring of progress in control and eradication programmes. The primary objective of the present study was to address significant knowledge gaps regarding herd BVD seroprevalence (based on pooled sera) and control on Irish farms, including vaccine usage.

Methods

Preliminary validation of an indirect BVD antibody ELISA test (Svanova, Biotech AB, Uppsala, Sweden) using pooled sera was a novel and important aspect of the present study. Serum pools were constructed from serum samples of known seropositivity and pools were analysed using the same test in laboratory replicates. The output from this indirect ELISA was expressed as a percentage positivity (PP) value. Results were used to guide selection of a proposed cut-off (PCO) PP. This indirect ELISA was applied to randomly constructed within-herd serum pools, in a cross-sectional study of a stratified random sample of 1,171 Irish dairy and beef cow herds in 2009, for which vaccination status was determined by telephone survey. The herd-level prevalence of BVD in Ireland (percentage positive herds) was estimated in non-vaccinating herds, where herds were classified positive when herd pool result exceeded PCO PP. Vaccinated herds were excluded because of the potential impact of vaccination on herd classification status. Comparison of herd-level classification was conducted in a subset of 111 non-vaccinating dairy herds using the same ELISA on bulk milk tank (BMT) samples. Associations between possible risk factors (herd size (quartiles)) and herd-level prevalence were determined using chi-squared analysis.

Results

Receiver Operating Characteristics Analysis of replicate results in the preliminary validation study yielded an optimal cut-off PP (Proposed Cut-off percentage positivity - PCO PP) of 7.58%. This PCO PP gave a relative sensitivity (Se) and specificity (Sp) of 98.57% and 100% respectively, relative to the use of the ELISA on individual sera, and was chosen as the optimal cut-off since it resulted in maximization of the prevalence independent Youden’s Index.The herd-level BVD prevalence in non-vaccinating herds was 98.7% (95% CI - 98.3-99.5%) in the cross-sectional study with no significant difference between dairy and beef herds (98.3% vs 98.8%, respectively, p = 0.595).An agreement of 95.4% was found on Kappa analysis of herd serological classification when bulk milk and serum pool results were compared in non-vaccinating herds. 19.2 percent of farmers used BVDV vaccine; 81% of vaccinated herds were dairy. A significant association was found between seroprevalence (quartiles) and herd size (quartiles) (p < 0.01), though no association was found between herd size (quartiles) and herd-level classification based on PCO (p = 0.548).

Conclusions

The results from this study indicate that the true herd-level seroprevalence to Bovine Virus Diarrhoea (BVD) virus in Ireland is approaching 100%. The results of the present study will assist with national policy development, particularly with respect to the national BVD eradication programme which commenced recently.     

A field study on the effects of dietary monensin on milk production and milk composition in dairy cows

The objectives of this study were to quantify the effect of 16 ppm of dietary monensin on milk production and composition of dairy cows, and to investigate factors having a potential impact on this effect. Data were generated from a total of 3577 Holstein dairy cows (47 herds) in Quebec enrolled in a herd-level, randomized clinical trial investigating the effects of monensin supplementation. Milk production and composition data were collected from monthly dairy herd improvement (DHI) testing. Monensin increased milk production by 0.9 kg/cow/d in cows under 150 days in milk (DIM) (P < 0.05). Monensin decreased milk fat percentage by 0.18 percentage points during the whole lactation (P < 0.05). This decreasing effect was larger for component-fed cows (P < 0.05) and for cows being fed low levels of dietary physically effective particles (P < 0.05) when compared respectively to cows fed total mixed ration and cows fed high levels of dietary physically effective particles. The results of this study suggest that monensin influences milk production and milk composition of dairy cows, and that diet composition and feeding system influence those effects.     

Detection of Salmonella dublin mammary gland infection in carrier cows, using an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay for antibody in milk or serum

An ELISA has been developed for measurement of milk and serum IgG concentrations directed against Salmonella dublin. Four groups of cows were studied: group A--7 experimentally challenge-exposed cows (infected, recovered group); group B--6 normal uninfected randomly selected control cows; group C--7 naturally occurring S dublin carrier cows; and group D--6 normal uninfected S dublin negative cows from the same herd as group C. Group-A cows were inoculated orally, or inoculated orally and then IV, but none became a S dublin carrier. As expected, all 7 group-A cows responded with a marked increase in ELISA titer after oral exposure to virulent S dublin, starting with a mean serum titer of 17.7% and reaching a peak mean serum titer of 79.3% approximately 76 days after initial exposure. As determined by necropsy and organ culturing of the remaining cows, none of the group-A cows became carriers. The mean serum ELISA titer for group-B uninfected control cows was 14.1% (SD +/- 12.8%). The mean milk ELISA titer was -1.0% (SD +/- 5.5%). Colostrum and then milk gave false-positive results for up to 2 weeks after onset of lactation. Group-B cows were culture negative for S dublin in feces and milk during lactation, and when tissues were cultured after euthanasia. Milk and serum samples for ELISA, and milk and fecal samples for culturing were taken from all group-A and -B cows twice a week for 6 months. Statistical correlation (P less than 0.05) was found between serum and milk ELISA titers.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)