Farm-level disease and production problem investigations - Use of molecular tools in outbreaks

Molecular tools are diagnostic and epidemiological tools that use DNA or RNA to characterize microbial pathogens at species or strain level, and to trace their sources and transmission patterns. Molecular tools are used to investigate problems in milk and cheese production and to elucidate the origin and epidemiology of disease outbreaks affecting single or multiple farms. Animal health products can be sources of pathogens that cause disease in dairy cattle, and dairy cattle can be a source of pathogens that cause disease in humans. In this paper, examples of a variety of molecular tools and their application in analysis of disease and production problems are presented. Bacterial and viral diseases are covered, including mastitis, respiratory disease, foot-and-mouth disease, and foodborne and zoonotic diseases.