How Do You Keep BVD Out Of Cattle Herd?

Producers should not go through the time and expense of testing to eliminate this disease if they are not going to take measures to keep it out. Several measures are required to keep BVD from entering or re-entering a herd.

Biosecurity

-All purchased animals should be tested for PI status and quarantined to give time for acute infections to clear

-Any animal leaving the farm (shows, leased bulls, etc.) should be quarantined for 30 days before re-entering the herd

-Purchased pregnant animals should not only be tested themselves for PI status, but their calves should be tested at birth to make sure they are not a PI.

Vaccinate

Modified-live vaccines (MLV) for BVD are superior in protection, especially when it comes to protecting against fetal infection and future PI cases (fetal protection means less chance of PI next year). The risks of giving MLV vaccines are: 1) the chance of causing abortion if given to a pregnant cow or to a calf or replacement heifer exposed to a pregnant cow; 2) possible interference with conception if given within 30 days of breeding. Some products are now labeled as safe for pregnant animals or those in contact with pregnant animals as long as the pregnant animal has been vaccinated once with the product. Thus, in herds with a confined breeding season, an MLV vaccine program can be started as soon as all cows have calved and 30 days prior to breeding. After that, yearly boosters can be given any time of the year. Herds that have bulls out most or all of the year may have a hard time instituting a MLV vaccination program. If the herd is low risk (not buying cattle, moving cattle on and off the farm) and it doesn’t have infertility/reproductive problems, a killed product may be sufficient. In general, it’s best to have both Type I and Type II BVD cytopathic strains in a vaccine.

A common myth is that vaccination can eliminate BVD. Vaccines will not eliminate BVD; only lessen the number and severity of problems. Good vaccination programs are very important because they prevent wrecks such as abortion storms, diarrhea and pneumonia outbreaks, but they will not eliminate all the reproductive losses or totally prevent PIs. They only decrease the likelihood of these occurring.

Source: LSU Ag Center

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