Cattle herds recently diagnosed with Johne’s Disease
By Guy Sheppard, DVM
With over 800,000 tests run annually, TVMDL encounters many challenging cases. Our case study series will highlight these interesting cases to increase awareness among veterinary and diagnostic communities.
Recently, TVMDL has diagnosed two cases of Johne’s disease in separate cattle herds. In the first case, some cattle displayed poor body condition when compared to the rest of the herd. In the second case, the history noted cattle exhibited profuse diarrhea for a month. Fecal samples from both cases were submitted to TVMDL. The Bovine Adult Diarrhea/Weight Loss panel was requested for both cases and results suggested Johne’s Disease as an initial diagnosis. Follow up testing using the Johne’s Disease qPCR resulted in the detection of Mycobacterium avium subspecies paratuberculosis. This bacterium is the causative agent of Johne’s Disease, which was determined to the be primary cause of the weight loss and diarrhea in both cattle herds. In addition to testing for Johne’s Disease, a complete blood count and chemistry panel were requested for one case. Identification of Mycobacterium avium subspecies paratuberculosis in these cases allowed for appropriate and rapid diagnosis.
To learn more about this case, contact Dr. Guy Sheppard, Veterinary Diagnostician at the College Station laboratory. For more information about TVMDL’s test catalog, visit tvmdl.tamu.edu or call 979-845-3414.