Seroprevalence of Mycobacterium avium spp. paratuberculosis in cow-calf herds located in the prairie provinces of Canada.

Objective
To determine the prevalence of Mycobacterium avium spp. paratuberculosis (MAP) in cow-calf herds located in the prairie provinces of Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba using a serum ELISA test.


Animals
Study herds were recruited from the Western Canadian Cow-calf Surveillance Network (WC3SN) designed to monitor factors related to the health and productivity of cow-calf herds. Overall, 1791 cows from 92 herds were included in the study.


Procedure
Blood samples were collected from 20 cows per herd in a systematic random fashion by private veterinarians in the fall of 2014. A serum ELISA (IDEXX, Westbrook, Maine, USA) test was used for the detection of MAP antibodies in the blood samples.


Results
The cow level seroprevalence across all 3 provinces was 1.5%. Alberta had the lowest cow seroprevalence (1.3%) followed by Saskatchewan (1.7%), and Manitoba (2.1%). Herd level data showed that 24% of herds had at least 1 positive animal and 5% had at least 2 positive animals. Seroprevalence estimates varied between geographical regions within each province and with herd size.


Conclusions
The apparent prevalence of MAP in prairie cow-calf herds remains low and similar to past estimates for the region. However, controlling the spread of Johne's disease in the western Canadian cow-calf herd should be considered an important discussion point in the beef industry.


Clinical relevance
Ongoing surveillance of Johne's disease in western Canadian beef herds is necessary for mitigating disease spread before it becomes a disease of major concern within the industry.