The objective of this study was to determine the effect of perinatal transmission in the control and eradication programs of paratuberculosis. This study was performed in a Spanish flock of Murciano-Granadina breed in Toledo, where paratuberculosis was first microbiologically diagnosed in 1999. A control program was established in the farm, with the main objective of interrupting the biological cycle of M. a. paratuberculosis, especially during the perinatal period. The program is based on two main aspects: 1) implementation of control and management guidelines, segregation of neonates immediately after birth and artificial feeding system; and 2) seroprevalence study of paratuberculosis. Based on the results a physical segregation of the positive and negative animals is carried out. During a three year period, paratuberculosis seroprevalence in the farm decreased from 28.7% to 13%. A genealogic study was carried out to determine the influence of mother's status in the transmission of the disease. Serological results of 72 mothers not included in the control program were compared with the results of their offspring (129 and 27 included or not in the control program). The results obtained revealed the importance of immediate segregation of neonates after birth, because the percentage of positive animals from positive mothers was higher (72.7% vs. 26.4%) in kids not included in the control program than the ones segregated from their mothers. This higher percentage reveals the importance of perinatal transmission since kids can be infected from several routes (vertical, faecal-oral, environment, etc.).Due to the interesting results obtained in this study, we recommend the application of this type of control program in caprine flocks to decrease the rate of contamination in the flock.

Sponsorship

Attendance to this Congress was sponsored by the EU-funded project SSPE-CT-2004-501903.