Occurence of Paratuberculosis in African Countries: a Review

Paratuberculosis is recognised in the countries of Europe, America and Asia as a serious threat to livestock productivity. This recognition is not shared on the continent of Africa due to the lack of information on the occurrence, distribution, risk factors and economic impacts. There is however some information available from a few reports and prevalence studies on the disease. These reports are supplemented by annual disease reports to the World organisation for Animal Health (OIE). The combination of these reports indicates that most countries of Africa have recorded incidences of the disease in their history but prevalence data on the disease is lacking in most countries and are only partial in others. Therefore, there is need to step up reconnaissance for the disease so that control can be instituted before the disease becomes endemic in the livestock populations of Africa.