Milk Replacers and BSE in Calves, Japan
Author Information
Author(s): Tsutsui Toshiyuki, Yamamoto Takehisa, Hashimoto Sayaka, Nonaka Takashi, Nishiguchi Akiko, Kobayashi Sota
Primary Institution: National Institute of Animal Health, Ibaraki, Japan
Hypothesis
Are milk replacers produced from a specific feed factory in Japan associated with a cluster of bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) infection in calves?
Conclusion
The study found that the use of milk replacers from a specific factory was associated with BSE infection in calves.
Supporting Evidence
- The odds ratio for the risk factor of using specific milk replacers was found to be 39.3.
- Among control farms, 23% used the milk replacers from the specific factory.
- 10 of the 13 BSE-infected calves were fed milk replacers from the specific factory.
Takeaway
This study looked at whether certain milk replacers made calves sick with a disease called BSE, and it found that the milk replacers might be the reason.
Methodology
A case-control study was conducted comparing farms with BSE-infected calves to control farms without BSE cases.
Potential Biases
Potential bias due to reliance on farmers' recall of past practices.
Limitations
The study is limited by the small number of BSE cases and the retrospective nature of the investigation.
Participant Demographics
Calves from farms in Hokkaido and Kanto regions of Japan.
Statistical Information
P-Value
0.0005
Confidence Interval
4.9–312.9
Statistical Significance
p = 0.0005
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)
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