Serological diagnostic for Bovine Paratuberculosis in the Municipality of Sotaquirá, Colombia

Bovine Paratuberculosis (BPT) or Johne’s disease is a pathology caused by Mycobacterium avium subsp. paratuberculosis (MAP). The parasite causes chronic granulomatous enteritis in domestic and wild grazers. Oral-fecal transmission is the most common form of transmission with calves less than six months old being the most susceptible but not presenting clinical symptoms until five years later. It is a disease that spreads during dairy production generating economic loss due to low productive yield and the early discarding of infected animals. The objective of our study was to perform a serological diagnostic of BPT in herds from the municipality of Sotaquirá, Boyacá. The study was designed as an observational, cross-sectional study with simple random sampling. Blood samples were taken from 1000 individuals and were analyzed via a commercial indirect ELISA assay kit (PARACHEK® 2 KIT, Prionics, Switzerland). The assay had a sensitivity of 70% and a specificity of 100%. Data was analyzed using EpiInfo® software. We found a low prevalence of MAP in Sotaquirá (3.5% PA and 5.0%PR), where we found that the age group with highest prevalence of MAP were individuals older than four years old (5.6%). We also found that Jersey (4.8%) and Holstein (4.5%) cattle breeds also had a higher prevalence of the disease. We also established cattle were aged more than four years and we similarly found a statistically significant association with handling practices (p<0.05). Determination of seroprevalence and principal risk factors within livestock farms allows for establishment of prevention and control programs through implementation of biosecurity measures.