Johne s disease is caused by the bacteria Mycobacterium paratuberculosis, which is a distant relative to the organism that causes Tuberculosis in humans and animals. Small ruminants rarely show diarrhea until near death. Young animals are at highest risk for acquiring infection.
Usual transmission is by ingestion of bacteria from feces.
Cattle that do develop clinical Johne s disease DO NOT recover and will eventually die from inability to absorb nutrients and fluids from the intestinal tract. Prevalence Johne s disease was identified more than a century ago and remains a common and costly disease. Widely distributed throughout the world and across all regions of the United States, Johne s is also a recognized problem in North Carolina herds. These losses are primarily due to decreased milk production and premature culling. Although the economic impact to beef herds is more difficult to measure, these losses can be substantial.