The importance of raising awareness of Johne’s disease in cattle was highlighted by FUW senior policy officer Hazel Wright during a talk she gave in London to the Dairy UK-led "Action Group for Johne's".
According to a survey designed by Dr Wright and issued to FUW members, the three top factors which hinder farmers from participating in Johne's control and surveillance programmes are that they believe the disease is not an issue on their farm, they are unaware of the information available and are concerned about the cost of becoming involved in Johne's programmes.
The survey showed that while more than 70 per cent of FUW members responding to the survey believed Johne's disease was not an issue on their farm, less than 32 per cent actually knew their Johne's disease status at the time of answering the questionnaire.
Dr Wright emphasised that the result of the survey demonstrated that it remains important to increase industry awareness about this disease as cattle may be infected without showing any clinical signs and such "apparently healthy" animals represent an infection risk to other herd members.
"Given the serious consequences of the disease, I designed the questionnaire to determine why farmers weren't getting involved in Johne's programmes," Dr Wright added. "The Action Group for Johne's is using this information to try and engage more farmers."
Clinical signs of Johne's disease are not specific to Johne's and include rapid weight loss and diarrhoea which can lead to cattle being culled for other reasons such as infertility or lameness.
"This means that the true prevalence of Johne's disease in the Welsh and UK herd is unknown, although estimates range from 35-70 per cent. While virtually all animals are infected in the first months of life, signs of the disease usually do not appear until the animals are adults," said Dr Wright.