Effects of Age and Environment on Adaptive Immune Responses to Mycobacterium avium subsp. paratuberculosis (MAP) Vaccination in Dairy Goats in Relation to Paratuberculosis Control Strategies.

Ad Koets,Lars Ravesloot,Robin Ruuls,Karianne Lievaart-Peterson,Annemieke Dinkla,Susanne Eisenberg

doi:10.3390/vetsci6030062

Abstract

Paratuberculosis infection is caused by Mycobacterium avium subsp. paratuberculosis (MAP). In the Netherlands, 75% herd level prevalence of caprine paratuberculosis has been estimated, and vaccination is the principal control strategy applied. Most goat dairy farms with endemic paratuberculosis systematically vaccinate goat kids in the first months of life with a commercially available whole cell MAP vaccine. We hypothesized that the development of adaptive immune responses in goats vaccinated at young age depends on the environment they are raised in, and this has implications for the application of immune diagnostic tests in vaccinated dairy goats. We evaluated the early immune response to vaccination in young goat kids sourced from a MAP unsuspected non-vaccinated herd and raised in a MAP-free environment. Subsequently we compared these with responses observed in birth year and vaccination matched adult goats raised on farms with endemic paratuberculosis. Results indicated that initial adaptive immune responses to vaccination are limited in a MAP-free environment. In addition, adult antibody positive vaccinated goats raised in a MAP endemic environment are less likely to be IS900 PCR-positive as compared to antibody negative herd mates. We conclude that test-and-cull strategies in a vaccinated herd are currently not feasible using available immune diagnostic tests.

Highlights

Paratuberculosis infection in ruminants including goats is caused by oral uptake of Mycobacterium avium subsp. paratuberculosis (MAP) from MAP-positive feces contaminated environmental sources [1]
We studied the MAP-specific antibody responses as well as MAP-specific IFN-γ immune responses observed in adult goats most of which were born in the same year, vaccinated as kids but raised on farms with documented endemic paratuberculosis
The data in the current study indicated that similar to cattle farms, MAP is present in the environment of dairy goat farms with endemic paratuberculosis

Summary

Introduction

Paratuberculosis infection in ruminants including goats is caused by oral uptake of Mycobacterium avium subsp. paratuberculosis (MAP) from MAP-positive feces contaminated environmental sources [1].MAP causes granulomatous lesions in the distal part of the ileum in domestic and wild ruminants.In goats, ileal lesions limit sufficient nutrient uptake and goats suffering from clinical Johne’s disease predominantly show weight loss, skin peeling and a rough hair coat while diarrhea is rarely seen [1,2]. Paratuberculosis infection in ruminants including goats is caused by oral uptake of Mycobacterium avium subsp. Paratuberculosis (MAP) from MAP-positive feces contaminated environmental sources [1]. MAP causes granulomatous lesions in the distal part of the ileum in domestic and wild ruminants. Ileal lesions limit sufficient nutrient uptake and goats suffering from clinical Johne’s disease predominantly show weight loss, skin peeling and a rough hair coat while diarrhea is rarely seen [1,2]. In the Netherlands, prevalence of MAP infection in dairy goats is not precisely known but it is estimated that over 75% of commercial Dutch dairy goat operations have endemic paratuberculosis based on clinical and routine (patho)diagnostic observations. Schuiling and Groeneveld [3] showed.

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