When is the best time to test paratuberculosis positivity? Observations from a follow-up study in Hungarian dairy herds

The objective of the present study was to find the most practical combination of diagnostic procedures and time points during lactation to identify Mycobacterium avium ssp. paratuberculosis (MAP)-infected animals. Four Hungarian dairy farms with a 4–5% apparent MAP positivity were enrolled in the st...

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Main Authors: Barbara Vass-Bognár, Mikolt Bakony, Kinga Fornyos, Walter Baumgartner, Johannes Lorenz Khol, Viktor Jurkovich
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Frontiers Media S.A. 2025-06-01
Series:Frontiers in Veterinary Science
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Online Access:https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fvets.2025.1570915/full
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author Barbara Vass-Bognár
Mikolt Bakony
Kinga Fornyos
Walter Baumgartner
Johannes Lorenz Khol
Viktor Jurkovich
author_facet Barbara Vass-Bognár
Mikolt Bakony
Kinga Fornyos
Walter Baumgartner
Johannes Lorenz Khol
Viktor Jurkovich
author_sort Barbara Vass-Bognár
collection DOAJ
description The objective of the present study was to find the most practical combination of diagnostic procedures and time points during lactation to identify Mycobacterium avium ssp. paratuberculosis (MAP)-infected animals. Four Hungarian dairy farms with a 4–5% apparent MAP positivity were enrolled in the study, and 13 non-lactating, known MAP-positive pregnant cows were chosen from each farm. Feces, blood, and milk samples were collected from each cow at 1–5, 10–14, 40–60, 90–120, 180–200, and 280–300 days in milk (DIM) and ELISA and PCR assays were performed for antibody or pathogen detection. Animals that later developed clinical paratuberculosis symptoms showed distinctly different patterns of test positivity than those that did not develop clinical symptoms during the observation period. The optimal time for detecting MAP-positive animals with the highest probability was DIM 40–60 with serum ELISA and DIM 10–14 and 40–60 for PCR assays, respectively. Serum ELISA proved to be slightly more sensitive than milk ELISA. S/P values showed a moderate correlation with the fecal qPCR Ct values. We found that the most suitable period for MAP screening is 40–60 days after calving.
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issn 2297-1769
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publisher Frontiers Media S.A.
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spelling doaj-art-5004acde0dfa4ee68ad39b978a7e103c2025-08-20T03:31:14ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Veterinary Science2297-17692025-06-011210.3389/fvets.2025.15709151570915When is the best time to test paratuberculosis positivity? Observations from a follow-up study in Hungarian dairy herdsBarbara Vass-Bognár0Mikolt Bakony1Kinga Fornyos2Walter Baumgartner3Johannes Lorenz Khol4Viktor Jurkovich5Department of Animal Hygiene, Herd Health and Mobile Clinic, University of Veterinary Medicine, Budapest, HungaryCentre for Translational Medicine, Semmelweis University, Budapest, HungaryEurofins Vet-Controll Ltd., Budapest, HungaryClinical Center for Ruminant and Camelid Medicine, Clinical Department for Farm Animals and Food System Science, University of Veterinary Medicine, Vienna, AustriaClinical Center for Ruminant and Camelid Medicine, Clinical Department for Farm Animals and Food System Science, University of Veterinary Medicine, Vienna, AustriaCentre for Animal Welfare, University of Veterinary Medicine, Budapest, HungaryThe objective of the present study was to find the most practical combination of diagnostic procedures and time points during lactation to identify Mycobacterium avium ssp. paratuberculosis (MAP)-infected animals. Four Hungarian dairy farms with a 4–5% apparent MAP positivity were enrolled in the study, and 13 non-lactating, known MAP-positive pregnant cows were chosen from each farm. Feces, blood, and milk samples were collected from each cow at 1–5, 10–14, 40–60, 90–120, 180–200, and 280–300 days in milk (DIM) and ELISA and PCR assays were performed for antibody or pathogen detection. Animals that later developed clinical paratuberculosis symptoms showed distinctly different patterns of test positivity than those that did not develop clinical symptoms during the observation period. The optimal time for detecting MAP-positive animals with the highest probability was DIM 40–60 with serum ELISA and DIM 10–14 and 40–60 for PCR assays, respectively. Serum ELISA proved to be slightly more sensitive than milk ELISA. S/P values showed a moderate correlation with the fecal qPCR Ct values. We found that the most suitable period for MAP screening is 40–60 days after calving.https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fvets.2025.1570915/fulldairy cowparatuberculosisELISAqPCRsampling time
spellingShingle Barbara Vass-Bognár
Mikolt Bakony
Kinga Fornyos
Walter Baumgartner
Johannes Lorenz Khol
Viktor Jurkovich
When is the best time to test paratuberculosis positivity? Observations from a follow-up study in Hungarian dairy herds
Frontiers in Veterinary Science
dairy cow
paratuberculosis
ELISA
qPCR
sampling time
title When is the best time to test paratuberculosis positivity? Observations from a follow-up study in Hungarian dairy herds
title_full When is the best time to test paratuberculosis positivity? Observations from a follow-up study in Hungarian dairy herds
title_fullStr When is the best time to test paratuberculosis positivity? Observations from a follow-up study in Hungarian dairy herds
title_full_unstemmed When is the best time to test paratuberculosis positivity? Observations from a follow-up study in Hungarian dairy herds
title_short When is the best time to test paratuberculosis positivity? Observations from a follow-up study in Hungarian dairy herds
title_sort when is the best time to test paratuberculosis positivity observations from a follow up study in hungarian dairy herds
topic dairy cow
paratuberculosis
ELISA
qPCR
sampling time
url https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fvets.2025.1570915/full
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