You can find a series of Dairy Producer Short Courses from our sponsor, Fort Dodge Animal Health, online. I’m going to feature some summaries of them here for you.

In this first one the topic is BRSV (Bovine Respiratory Syncytial Virus) which Fort Dodge calls the “stealth disease” of dairies.

BRSV typically hits young calves hardest. Its microscopic lung lesions stimulate the system to release the same chemical that causes your nasal passages to swell in response to a cold — which similarly swells the lung lining and traps body fluid until, in effect, the calf drowns. Even when calves escape that fate, BRSV may suppress their immune system and leave enough tissue damage to set up the ideal environment for bacteria like Pasteurella and Mannheimia to finish them off.

Fort Dodge offers Pyramid, a one-dose option for BRSV protection. You can read more about this disease in their full short course publication (pdf).