Control of Paratuberculosis in an farm of red deer in captivity in Argentina

SOLER P, VERNA A, MORSELLA C, CASARO A, PAOLICCHI F.

Bilbao, Spain

Congreso; 7th International Colloquium on Paratuberculosis; 2002

Red deer in captivity clinically shows Paratuberculosis at an early age, with a high percentage of mortality. The identification of positive animals facilitates the removal of young deer from the herd, which reduces the infection rate within the herd. We applied a control model to improve the production in an establishment dedicated to breed red deer in captivity in Argentina, characterizing the disease by the absorbed indirect ELlSA test and the culture of feces, together with the application of management measures during the 1997-2002 period. An annual bleeding was made on a population of  950 animals, from 15 up to 84 months of age. A total of 5717 sera were analyzed during 6 years. The prevalence of seropositive animals found in the first year of work was of 18.9% but it decreased significantly the following year until reaching 7.8%, generating a great impact at the beginning of the control of the disease. In successive years the prevalence stabilized between 7.5% and 8.5%. This apparent stabilization of the prevalence was determined by the lack of removal of all seropositive animals, many of these of 15 months of age. Since 2000 control measures were adjusted and the removal of 100% of positive and diseased animals reduced prevalence up to 4.0%. The high quantity of diseased young animals positive to ELlSA indicates a high contagion and infection rate in red deer under captivity conditions. High prevalences hinder the control of Paratuberculosis in populations of deer, therefore it is necessary to implement rigorous measures of removal of positive animals during the control of this disease, which contributes to diminish the population of infected animals and the rate of contagion with Paratuberculosis.