In this episode, Dr. Lottie covers everything about Johne’s disease (also known as paratuberculosis) from the MAP pathogen itself and what clinical signs you may see, to how we can control infection and what Johne’s means for public health

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Timeline:
00:00 Intro
00:45 Case
02:36 Aetiology & Pathogenesis
06:26 Clinical Signs
09:18 Diagnosis
14:46 Treatment
15:59 Prevention
18:42 Impact of Johne’s
21:01 Key Points
22:32 Outro

Recommended Reading:

• Johne’s Disease in Canada – Parts I and II Part I is an overview of clinical signs, how the disease develops, and common di gnostic approaches then part II focuss on the economic impact of the disease and control methods . Canadian Veterinary Journal (2006), Vol 47(9), pp 874–882 and Canadian Veterinary Journal (2006), Vol 47(11), pp 1089–1099.
• Mycobacterium avium subsp. paratuberculosis in Veterinary Medicine  A very readable but detailed explanation of the bacterium itself and how it behaves. Clinical Microbiology Reviews (2001).
• Veterinary Medicine: A Textbook of the Diseases of Cattle, Horses, Sheep, Pigs and Goats (11th Edition)  Great cattle textbook chapter on paratuberculosis Constable, Hinchcliff, Done & Grünberg — pp. 552–572

References

• Tiwari, A., VanLeeuwen, J.A., McKenna, S.L.B., Keefe, G.P. & Barkema, H.W. (2006) ‘Johne’s disease in Canada Part I: Clinical symptoms, pathophysiology, diagnosis, and prevalence in dairy herds’, Canadian Veterinary Journal, 47(9), pp. 874–882.
• McKenna, S.L.B., Keefe, G.P., Tiwari, A., VanLeeuwen, J.A. & Barkema, H.W. (2006) ‘Johne’s disease in Canada Part II: Disease impacts, risk factors, and control programs for dairy producers’, Canadian Veterinary Journal, 47(11), pp. 1089–1099.
• Harris, N.B. & Barletta, R.G. (2001) ‘Mycobacterium avium subsp. paratuberculosis in Veterinary Medicine’, Clinical Microbiology Reviews, 14(3), pp. 489–512. doi: 10.1128/CMR.14.3.489-512.2001.
• Constable, P.D., Hinchcliff, K.W., Done, S.H. & Grünberg, W. (2017) Veterinary Medicine: A Textbook of the Diseases of Cattle, Horses, Sheep, Pigs and Goats. 11th ed. Elsevier, pp. 552–572.
• Sweeney, R.W., Collins, M.T., Koets, A.P., McGuirk, S.M. & Roussel, A.J. (2012) ‘Paratuberculosis (Johne’s Disease) in Cattle and Other Susceptible Species’, Journal of Veterinary Internal Medicine, 26(6), pp. 1239–1250. doi: 10.1111/j.1939-1676.2012.01019.x.
• Rathnaiah, G., Zinniel, D.K., Bannantine, J.P., Stabel, J.R., Gröhn, Y.T., Collins, M.T. & Barletta, R.G. (2017) ‘Pathogenesis, Molecular Genetics, and Genomics of Mycobacterium avium subsp. paratuberculosis’, Frontiers in Veterinary Science, 4, 187. doi: 10.3389/fvets.2017.00187.
• Beard, P.M., Daniels, M.J., Henderson, D., Pirie, A., Rudge, K., Buxton, D., Rhind, S., Greig, A., Hutchings, M.R., McKendrick, I., Stevenson, K. & Sharp, J.M. (2001) ‘Paratuberculosis infection of nonruminant wildlife in Scotland’, Journal of Clinical Microbiology, 39(4), pp. 1517–1521. doi: 10.1128/JCM.39.4.1517-1521.2001.
• Whittington, R., Donat, K., Weber, M.F. et al. (2019) ‘Control of paratuberculosis: who, why and how. A review of 48 countries’, BMC Veterinary Research, 15, 198. doi: 10.1186/s12917-019-1943-4.
• World Organisation for Animal Health (WOAH) (2024) Paratuberculosis. Available at: https://www.woah.org/en/disease/paratuberculosis/ (Accessed: 30th October 2025).
• Fecteau, M.E. (2018) ‘Paratuberculosis in cattle’, Veterinary Clinics of North America: Food Animal Practice, 34(1), pp. 209–222. doi: 10.1016/j.cvfa.2017.10.011

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