Nick Taylor MCRVS, veterinary epidemiologist at PAN Livestock Services Ltd (PAN), attended the 7th Congress of the European Association of Veterinary Laboratory Diagnosticians in Padova, Italy on 22^nd October 2023.

Nick Taylor described how to manage milk ELISA test data to support practical Johne’s Disease control in dairy herds. Previously, interpreting milk ELISA test data was confusing for farmers as the results can be presented in multiple formats and repeat results can fluctuate. To improve the utilization of milk ELISA test data, with support from the UK Action Group on Johne’s, PAN developed the JD Tracker tool. The tool converts milk ELISA test data into an easy to read, colour-coded pdf report for farmers and vets through a series of cow- and herd-level parameters relating to JD outcome, progression, persistence and management, and allows herds to compare themselves to benchmarked herds. 

Next, Nick Taylor highlighted the progress in JD Tracker parameters within UK dairy herds. In Autumn 2023, the National JD Tracker database was established. The database is the result of a collaboration between Dairy UK, PAN, and two milking recording organisations; National Milk Records (NMR) and Cattle Information Service (CIS). It is an anonymised InterHerd+ database containing milk recording and milk ELISA data for herds which test on a quarterly basis. All JD Tracker tool parameters, including; average test value and % test positives have improved over the past 5 years. Farmers have become more engaged with active JD management, better at identifying and removing high-risk cows and are more effectively reducing the risk of disease transmission but JD control is long-term and farmers must be kept engaged to maintain control.

To access the 7th Congress of the European Association of Veterinary Laboratory Diagnosticians website, please click HERE.

To view the press release for our latest peer-reviewed paper on trends in JD, please click HERE