Management and control of Johne's disease in beef suckler herds

Johne's disease is a progressive, chronic wasting disease of cattle caused by Mycobacterium avium subspecies paratuberculosis (MAP) that results in significant economic losses to the livestock industry and has a notable impact on animal health and welfare. In recent years, the industry has recognised that it has a responsibility to identify and use every tool available to reduce the impact of this disease in dairy herds, and best practice measures and on‐farm strategies to do this are well documented. However, there is a lack of information available to farmers and vets on Johne's disease control in beef suckler herds. This article describes biosecurity measures, surveillance and testing strategies, and other key control measures that could be used to prevent the introduction of MAP into disease‐free beef suckler herds. It also discusses effective strategies for controlling the disease in infected suckler herds using combined management measures aimed at reducing both the prevalence of existing infections and the incidence of new infections.