Co-ordination of an exposure assessment workshop

Summary

​Crohn’s Disease is a chronic inflammatory bowel disease of humans notable for its protracted and detrimental impact on the living quality of affected individuals. The disease has some similarities with paratuberculosis of ruminants, otherwise known as Johne’s Disease, an infection caused by Mycobacteria avium ss paratuberculosis (MAP). The cause of Crohn’s Disease is uncertain and controversial. There is inconclusive evidence suggesting that exposure to MAP, or components of the MAP cell, derived from livestock is required for humans to acquire Crohn’s Disease. Humans are most likely to be exposed to MAP via the oral route involving food or environmental pathways with the organism derived from ruminant faeces or ruminant tissues.
A project scoping workshop was held on 12th September 2011 which resulted in the development of a draft methodology as a basis for a project to develop an exposure assessment. The exposure assessment will identify mitigations that could be applied to the management of red meat production and red meat consumption, to reduce the exposure of the human population to MAP.
In preparation for this workshop, MLA secured the services of an experienced epidemiologist to provide the following:a preliminary desktop review to determine key developments in the fielddevelop a draft methodology for the exposure assessment to guide discussion at the workshopdevelop briefing and presentation materials for the workshop
The workshop involved participants with expertise in livestock production, marketing, the processing sector, risk management and epidemiology underpinning the management of Johne’s disease.