Some of the top beef and dairy thought leaders recently discussed what has been described as one of the most “insidious, production-limiting diseases” facing producers: Bovine Viral Diarrhea Virus (BVDV). According to Life Technologies, a company producing innovative life science solutions to support scientists worldwide, more than 50 veterinarians, laboratory personnel, researchers and animal health company officials participated in the symposium on Oct. 13 in Kansas City, Missouri, addressing the significant economic impact of BVDV on the cattle industry.
According to event organizer Jeff Baxter, senior product manager at Thermo Fisher Scientific, the symposium explored and opened lively discussion about how diagnostic and surveillance tools can be orchestrated in a comprehensive program to manage and control BVDV on a nationwide basis. “The eradication effort starts with understanding the baseline from a foundational perspective,” Baxter said. “The three critical elements are vaccination, diagnostics and biosecurity, and it will take a collaborative effort industrywide to achieve our goal of eradicating BVDV across the nation.”
Economic Impact of BVDV
Dr. John VanLeeuwen, professor at the University of Prince Edward Island, Canada, spoke about the significant production and economic losses the disease causes, even when the effects are “subclinical,” or not easily detected.
“BVD is one of those insidious, production-limiting diseases that affects many cattlemen and their livestock, even though owners may not be aware of it,” VanLeeuwen said. “It’s a virus that can produce what are called persistently infected (PI) animals that look normal, but spew out the virus, potentially causing disease and production losses through the rest of the herd.”
Research shows the disease can cost producers up to $100 per head, per year in epidemically infected herds.
Other speakers at the symposium said while vaccinations play a role in controlling the disease, diagnostics and surveillance are needed to help successfully manage it. One monitoring tool mentioned during the meeting was from the Kansas State Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory, which developed a way to compare BVDV control programs between two hypothetical herds, helping put a dollar value on following recommendations and a dollar value if you don’t follow those recommendations.