Johne's disease is uncommon in beef cattle, and we do not know much about how it spreads. Johne's disease occurs in beef cow-calf (called beef suckler in some countries) herds, more often those of registered breeders based on clinical experience. The NAHMS beef '97 survey found that 7.9% of U.S. cow-calf herds are infected. When asked about Johne's disease, 70% of herd owners responded that they had never heard of it and another 22% said they knew the name but nothing more. These data indicate that the cow-calf industry has a chance to get ahead of Johne's disease and control it before it spreads to the extent seen in the dairy industry but that a major educational effort is required first. For detailed information about this survey go to the CEAH website.		The epidemiology of Johne's disease in beef cattle has not been studied much but cow to calf transmission is probably the most significant aspect of the disease epidemiology.

The economic impact of Johne's in beef cattle has not been reported. It is largely dependent on the perception of the industry about Johne's disease and this, in turn, is quickly changing. For commercial beef producers, direct economic impacts such as decreased weigh gains or decreased fertility are probably minimal. Purebred producers, however, face huge economic problems from Johne's disease. If, in the future, buyers of cattle consider it important to keep Mycobacterium paratuberculosis infections out of their herds, owners of infected herds may find their cattle bring a lower sale price or are even unsaleable, while those from herds that are test-negative for paratuberculosis or are certified-free of the infection will bring a premium. This economic impact will be driven by buyer perception of the importance of Johne's disease.

Control programs are largely built on what is known of the epidemiology of Johne's disease in dairy cattle and assessment of probable risk factors. In other words, control programs are largely theoretical. Field trials to test the success of such programs or to evaluate which techniques are most cost-effective are lacking due to a lack of research funding. Consequently, the control methods outlined in this section of the website while scientifically well grounded are largely untested. Research data and clinical experience used to support these recommendations come primarily from work on dairy cattle. In spite of this disclaimer, I am confident the recommendations will work. The single most important factor governing the success of Johne's disease control programs is consistent application of controls over an extended period of time, that is 6 to 10 years.