A new National Johne’s Monitoring Scheme has been launched in a bid to identify herds with an increased likelihood of having Johne's disease.

The new scheme was launched by Animal Health Ireland (AHI) under its Irish Johne’s Control Programme (IJCP).

The initiative will rely on results from the national Johne’s bulk tank milk screening to identify herds with a higher likelihood of having the disease.

Any herds that have two positive Bult Tank Milk results within a two-year period will be notified and supported to take part in the IJCP in a bid to minimise these risks.

The scheme, which is co-funded by the Department of Agriculture, Food, and the Marine (DAFM), as well as dairy co-operatives, will provide dedicated funding to support at risk farms.

AHI

AHI's Johne’s programme manager, Liam Doyle sad: “The National Johne’s Monitoring Scheme is an ambitious and important development, devised and implemented through close consultation and collaboration between all members of the Johne’s Disease Implementation Group.

"The scheme provides a structured and practical pathway for herds with an increased likelihood of Johne’s disease to engage with the Irish Johne’s Control Programme and apply proven, on-farm control measures alongside their veterinary practitioner.”

The IJCP s designed to enable farmers to implement scientifically proven actions to control Johne’s disease on their farms.

By the end of 2025, there was 2,287 herds enrolled in the IJCP, 2,250 of which were dairy herds.

Under the programme, farmers will need to get their local vet to carry out a veterinary risk assessment and management plan (VRAMP).

This will be followed by a whole herd test where all animals over two years-of-age shall be tested using either a milk or blood sample.

Farmers will then be required to carry out ancillary testing on all ELISA positive and inconclusive animals.

If these tests are positive, farmers will be required to hold a Targeted Advisory Service for Animal Health (TASAH) investigation.

Johne's

Johne's disease is an incurable infection in cattle that can devastate a dairy herd's production.

It is caused by paratuberculosis, a subspecies of Mycobacterium avium, which is related to infectious organism that causes tuberculosis (TB).

The disease causes chronic diarrhoea, weight loss, and infertility. As there is little chance of recovery from an infection, it often proves fatal.

The infection is common with dairy herds, and significantly reduces an animal's milk yield before displaying any other symptoms, making it difficult for farmers to spot or diagnose.

If a farm has poor management control, the contagious disease will spread silently, making it extremely difficult to detect and terminate the disease.

Previous studies have suggested that the disease can cost approximately 1% of gross milk revenue, which is the equivalent of losing more than €30/cow in a year.