Veterinarians Dr. Pete Orpin and Dr. Dick Sibley and Dr. Karen Bond (PhD student) provide an excellent overview of Johne’s disease, targeted at dairy farmers and veterinarians. The article appears in the UK magazine In Practice. The magazine publishers have generously provided readers of Johnes.org news free access to the full article. The article nicely describes the disease, its importance, and measures to control it with lovely graphics. It also briefly describes UK’s national Johne’s control program, which has many similarities to that of the US.
The second article of the series goes into more depth about on-farm control measures and the UK’s National Johne’s Management Plan. It will be featured in coming news stories on this website.
About the authors:
Dr. Pete Orpin qualified from the University of Bristol in 1983 and worked as a farm vet within the Park Vet Group in Leicestershire for 35 years before retiring. He is a founding member of Action Group Johne’s and chair of its technical group, and is a director of Myhealthyherd.
Dr. Dick Sibley qualified from the University of Bristol in 1977 and is currently a practicing vet in Witheridge, Devon. A founding member of Action Group Johne’s and director of Myhealthyherd, he has had a long interest in the practical management and control of infectious diseases, including bovine viral diarrhea, tuberculosis and Johne’s disease.
Dr. Karen Bond qualified from the University of Glasgow in 2000 and works as a veterinary adviser for National Milk Records, where she has a special interest in the testing and management of infectious disease. She is currently undertaking a PhD in Johne’s disease transmission on dairy farms.
Comment: I wish to thank the publisher, BMJ, for granting access to these excellent articles on Johne’s disease published in In Practice, a publication of the British Veterinary Association.