We just had our goats CAE tested and the Vet asked if we wanted to be tested for Johnes disease too. We said "Heck yeah! What is it?"
The Vet thinks this is going to be the next big scare when BSE winds down. Apparently it can lay dormant for several years and can be transferred in milk and fecal material. He says it is being linked to Crohns disease in people. If I understood right, to be certified Johnes Disease free, you have to test negative for several years in a row.
Whenever we have our goats tested, we have them tested for both CAE and Johnes. And yes to be certified free of it, you need to have no positives for several years, but I'm not sure how many.
We only buy goats where we can see the test results for both CAE and Johnes. Our mentor in goat farming is certified negative for both, and she hasn't had a goat positive for either since she started goat farming over 25 years ago. We're hoping to accomplish the same thing, especially since we plan on selling raw goat milk.
Apparently, the Johnes tests are relatively new in Michigan, or at least in our part of it. I'm finding quite a bit about it on the net, but even the old time goat folk here are not real familiar with it.
It looks like some states are even offering free testing. No such luck here. Fortunately, we don't have that many of them, but with does dropping in March and May, we'll soon have more.
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