Johne's testing

southerngurl · #1 12/14/10, 09:12 AM

Where is the recommended place to test for Johne's and about how much does it cost? How long to get results normally?

agmantoo · #2 12/14/10, 10:29 AM

Here is a lab that does testing and the instructions are on their site
http://www.aghealthlabs.com/info/inn...p?nid=9&ID=803

I think the fee is around $5/ sample plus shipping.

dosthouhavemilk · #3 12/14/10, 10:57 AM

If the buyer won't hold the cow, then go ahead with the blood test. When you get her home, put her on a piece of land you are willing to give up use of, then use the fecal testing. The fecal testing is far more accurate than the blood testing. The blood test is good for an overview of a herd, but is not as accurate as fecal. Fecal can take up to three months for results though (which you want, because it means they are negative).

southerngurl · #4 12/14/10, 11:52 AM

What about testing milk? Is it very accurate? I don't think I can wait 3 months. They will be keeping her there for another two weeks or so to get her bred, if we buy her but that is all.

I don't have a place to sacrifice to put her really. BTW, if a cow is asymptomatic by the time they are over 6 yrs of age, is that a pretty good sign they are negative?

dosthouhavemilk · #5 12/14/10, 12:49 PM

Not very many go symptomatic. Especially those that are kept healthy otherwise.
I don't know about the milk testing. We quit testing when the State quit helping with the cost. That was a couple of years ago when milk testing was in its infancy. At that point we were being told that for Johne's to show up in the milk, it was because of contamination from positive feces, not the milk itself. So clean equipment and proper milking techniques meant that Johne's should not be passed in the milk.
There may be a fecal that gets result more quickly. I would contact your State testing center to find out. Our State vet was always very good at explaining and answering any questions we had.
They learn more all the time.

southerngurl · #6 12/15/10, 04:41 PM

I talked with the lab and it's 4.75 for a blood test and they said it's 99+% accurate and they test every Friday with results the same day. So if anyone else was wondering, there ya go.