Caprine Paratuberculosis Seroprevalence and Immune Response to Anti- Mycobacterium avium Subspecies paratuberculosis Vaccination on the Canary Islands, Spain.

Simple Summary: Paratuberculosis (PTB) is a chronic disease that affects domestic and wild ruminants worldwide. This study was conducted in 12 diary caprine farms on the Canary Islands. The region counts with the fourth largest goat population in Spain and has "officially free" bovine tuberculosis status. Two sampling sessions were conducted, and 2774 serum samples were tested by an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. In the first session, a prevalence of 18.4% was obtained, varying from 2.5% up to 61.1%. In the second session, the effect of PTB vaccination was evaluated and both non-vaccinated (nV) and vaccinated (V) were included. Variable tendencies in antibody development were registered in farms with different initial seroprevalences. In farms in which up to 10% of the animals were positive, more adult goats had antibodies against PTB after vaccination. In farms with more than 10% of ELISA-positive animals, a heterogeneous response to vaccination was reported. We observed that in farms with higher initial prevalence, fewer goats that were V developed antibodies. Our work characterizes the caprine PTB situation on the Canary Islands and gives new insights on the effect of farm prevalence on the immune response to PTB vaccination, although further studies on a greater scale are needed. Paratuberculosis (PTB), caused by Mycobacterium avium subspecies paratuberculosis (MAP), is a chronic disease with economic impact on ruminant farming worldwide. The Canary Islands count with the fourth largest goat population in Spain and are "officially free" of bovine tuberculosis. Twelve farms were included with 2774 serum samples tested by an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) for detection of anti-MAP antibodies in two sessions. In the first session, an overall apparent prevalence of 18.4% (2.5% up to 61.1%) was obtained. Farms with prevalences (0–10%], (10–20%] and >20% were identified, with differences in seroconversion in the same prevalence group between farms and age ranges. Non-vaccinated (nV) and vaccinated (V) animals were included in the second sampling session. Higher levels of antibodies were detected in V animals older than 12 months, with considerable variations between age ranges and farms. Our results describe the current PTB status of the Canary Islands' goat farming. Furthermore, new insights on the effect of the farm prevalence on seroconversion in V animals are provided, although further studies are needed to evaluate the multiple factors affecting the immune response to anti-MAP vaccination. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]