Objective.

To report the frequency of seropositivity against Mycobacterium avium subsp. paratuberculosis (MAP) and to explore the factors associated with the positive outcome, both at herd and animal level.

Materials and methods.

A cross-sectional study was carried out on 204 dairy cows, result of the crossing of different breeds, from five low-tropic dairy herds, located in three municipalities of the Provinces of Sucre and Córdoba (Colombia) in 2018. The animals were randomly selected, and blood samples were collected from each one. A commercial ELISA kit was used to analyze the sera. Information regarding factors related to herds and animals was collected through questionnaires. Descriptive statistics were calculated for all variables (i.e. herd size, presence of other ruminants co-grazing with cattle in the last 2 years, age of the animals, parity, and days since the last birth), and the association between these variables and the result to ELISA (p<0.05) was explored.

Results.

The 17.2% (35/204; 95% CI: 12.0-22.3%) of the cows were positive for MAP by the ELISA test, and the five herds had seropositive animals. The herd-level variable presence of other ruminants in co-grazing with cattle in the last 2 years and the animal-level variables age and parity were associated with the positive ELISA results.

Conclusions.

The present study found that 17.2% of the cows and 100% of the herds were MAP positive by the ELISA test. Additionally, associated variables were identified and may be of interest to both producers and veterinarians of production animals, guiding their approach to disease management.

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