Johne's Disease (and MAP) in as Many as 70% of U.S. Herds

I saw an article today that shared some startling news about the spread of Johne's Disease. In the last 15 years (from 1996 to 2009), the prevalence of Johne's has increased from only 22% to as much as 70% of U.S. dairy herds. Johne's Disease is caused by the MAP bacteria (see previous blog posts), which many people have found links with to Crohn's Disease.

Here's an excerpt:

"Studies showed that in 1996, Johne's disease was in about 22 percent of the U.S. herds, but because of rapid expansion of herds across the country, producers unknowingly purchased young heifers and older cows which were infected with the disease and thus has raised the prevalence of Johne's to be present in nearly 70 percent of the herds," she said.

Could the recent rise in Crohn's Disease be linked to this rise in the spread of MAP?