Page 19 - Waigroup Pinebank Pinehill Angus 2021 Catalogue ebook

Managing BVD in your herd

BVD is a Pestivirus that infects cattle, usually between
the ages of 6mths and 2yrs. The main impact of BVD
is on breeding animals.
How do cattle contract the virus?
• The virus is spread by direct contact with an
infected animal.
• A Persistently Infected Carrier (PI) animal is born
after their mother is infected for the firs time with
the BVD virus, between 1 & 4 months of pregnancy.
• All calves born PI animals will be PI’s themselves
Is BVD treatable?
The disease is not directly treatable. In normal healthy
animals, BVD is usually a short-live disease, which the
animals recovers from by itself.
• Normal healthy animals may scour for a few days
and experience a check in growth rate.
• Bulls may be temporarily infertile.
• Pregnant cows or heifers, depending on the state
of pregnancy may show empty, abort the foetus,
give birth to weak, sickly or deformed calves, give
birth to PI carrier animals or give birth to a normal
antibody positive calf.
• PI carrier animals often appear normal until they
develop ‘mucosal disease’ (fever, ulceration of
gums, oesophagus and entire digestive tract).
Mucosal disease in PI animals is always fatal and
all PI animals should be culled as soon as they
are identified.

The only way to determine the BVD status of your herd
is by blood testing. Discuss options with your vet.

To protect your herd against BVD it is advised to bring
in no outside animal unless it has been tested clear
of the BVD virus and preferable vaccinated. This is
particularly true of breeding bulls.

To avoid temporary infertility in your sires
if exposed to BVD while out with the cows,
always give them a booster vaccine prior to
mating.
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