Transcript Paratuberculosis in cattle - Veterinary Research Institute

Paratuberculosis in cattle:
A possible risk for consumers
Karel Hruška and Ivo Pavlík
Veterinary Research Institute, Brno, Czech Republic
Paratuberculosis (Johne‘s disease)
 caused by Mycobacterium avium subsp.
paratuberculosis
 no known toxins but strong immune reaction in the gut
 massive multiplication in acute phase of disease
 presence in milk and meat
Crohn disease
 similar pathological symptoms in man
 family history is a risk factor
 autoimmune disease ? primed by bacterial mimicry
Veterinary Research Institute, Brno, Czech Republic
Crohn‘s disease incidence and
importance
0,15 per cent of the population
USA 400 000 people
costs 1,0 to 1,2 billion dollars
Western Europe 280 000 people
similar prevalence in Canada, Australia and
New Zealand
(all with high incidence of paratuberculosis)
Central and Eastern European countries
have lower incidence of CD and less
paratuberculosis, but rapid increase of
incidence in both diseases
Veterinary Research Institute, Brno, Czech Republic
Risk factors
 both viable and dead bacteria in milk, beef
and venison
 surviving of mycobacteria in the
environment and water
 several years of latent period of disease
 difficult diagnosis
 expensive eradication of paratuberculosis
 absence of unified opinion
Veterinary Research Institute, Brno, Czech Republic
Never is too early to look for the
solution if the real problem exists
 farmers must be informed why and how to
keep their herds paratuberculosis free
 herds not yet infected should be protected
 milk and meat from infected cattle should
not be consumed by people under risk
(children and family members of CD
patients)
 bioproducts cannot be marketed from
cattle suffering from paratuberculosis
Veterinary Research Institute, Brno, Czech Republic