Herd level risk factors for Mycobacterium avium subsp. paratuberculosis infection and clinical incidence in dairy herds in Chile

The study objective was to identify risk factors associated to: i) the infection by Mycobacterium avium subsp. paratuberculosis (MAP), and ii) paratuberculosis clinical incidence in Chilean dairy herds. A random sample of forty herds with previous history of MAP infection was selected. At herd level, all lactating cows were tested using a commercial ELISA kit. On the sampling date, a questionnaire gathering information on herd demographics, husbandry practices, and biosecurity measures was applied. Additionally, the farm manager/owner was surveyed regarding the number of paratuberculosis compatible clinical cases (CCC) in the last 12 months. Two Bayesian generalized linear mixed effect models were used to evaluate the association between the questionnaire data, and the proportion of truly infected animals (model 1) or the number of CCC (model 2). A total of 4963 animals were sampled with an average apparent prevalence of 6.3 % (95 % confidence interval (4.0-8.0%). All sampled herds presented seropositive animals. Forty eight percent of the herds did not observe any CCC in the last year. Although, among those herd that did report CCC, a median of two cases per year was estimated. Model outputs showed that the proportion of truly infected animals and CCC reporting rates are associated to management practices. Specifically, positive associations were observed for feeding of calves exclusively with milk replacer, and the distance between the milking parlor and the calves' barn. Additionally, CCC reporting rates were higher in farms that recently purchased animals, and where the distance between the milking parlor and the calves' barn was less than 30 m.