Issue 3 - November 2005

Bovine Viral Diarrhea.  While Mad Cow disease continues to grab the media spotlight, BVD accounted for up to 2.1 billion dollars in losses to the cattle industry in 2004.  That, to us, are more than 2 billion reasons to create a better understanding of this disease and find avenues to manage it profitably.  The seriousness of this disease has grown to the point where the Academy of Veterinary Consultants has adopted a position statement to control and eventually eradicate BVD from North America. 

We feel that one of our key responsibilities here at Herd Mentality is to keep our eyes focused on the topics critical to the cattle industry.  While these often aren't the top stories in today's news, they are the ones that need to be brought into focus.  So by specifically researching events within only the cattle industry we aim to find what the greatest concerns are, and, with that, keep our readers informed on what is affecting our industry and what can be done not only to avoid the negative issues that can arise - but to potentially profit from these developments as well.  In this issue, Animal Profiling International ™ dedicates all our attention to Bovine Viral Diarrhea - a growing problem that is gaining a great deal of concern within our community.  We hope that the information presented below will provide insight that will help our readers reach more effective decisions in dealing with this costly disease.

The seriousness of BVD is alarming.  In fact, BVD has been termed the "AIDS" virus of cattle due to the severe suppression of the immune system which allows other disease organisms to invade the animal.  Sadly, much like the AIDS virus, BVD is similarly difficult to detect within its community.  Persistently infected (PI) animals are the primary source of the spread of BVD infections.  The major problem with PI animals is that they cannot be visually identified.  In addition, according to the Academy of Veterinary Consultants, a current estimate shows that about 10% of beef cow herds have at least 1 PI animal.  What does this mean?  Well, a single PI calf will shed up to 10,000,000 virus particles every day of its life - potentially infecting every animal with whom it comes into contact.  These frightening numbers shouldn't be ignored.  In order to bring to light other issues that I have encountered with this disease, please read the editorial that I've provided below.

Upcoming on December 3rd, Animal Profiling International ™ will be presenting at the Academy of Veterinary Consultants winter meeting in Denver, Colorado.  At this conference we will be presenting information on our premier profiling products for the cattle industry.  Included in these discussions will be our testing strategies for discovering the PI calves who spread the deadly Bovine Viral Diarrhea virus.  We will also provide our most recent data on API's Animal Performance Index and its capabilities in assisting the cattle industry as it relates to Bovine Respiratory Disease (BRD) as well the control of the potential unnecessary use of antibiotics.  For more information on API's products and their benefits - click here. 

We hope you enjoy the following information and look forward to any feedback that you have.  Thanks for reading.

Regards,

Bruce W. Hoffman, DVM
President
Animal Profiling International

Unscrambling the BVD Riddle

BEEF Magazine's Senior Editor Clint Peck takes an in-depth look at the dilemma that is Bovine Viral Diarrhea.  In the search to find and eliminate the Persistently Infected (PI) animal from pens, one study found that a pen without a PI animal achieved over a $30/head cost advantage as opposed to a pen that had an animal that tested positive for PI.  The article does more to highlight the costs, performance factors, and future approaches that the industry can take to help ease the burden of this disease.  

Read the article

Management Guidelines for Beef Cattle Veterinarians on BVD

In July of 2003, the Academy of Veterinary Consultants provided information and guidelines to help format a battle plan for Cow-Calf herds as well as stocker and feedlot operations to deal with BVD.  The AVC also covers common misperceptions about fighting this disease.  We view this as another "must-read" for anyone in the cattle industry.

Read the article

Abstract on BVD Study from Guy Lonergan, BVSc, PhD

One of the pre-eminent doctors researching both Bovine Respiratory Disease (BRD) and Bovine Viral Diarrhea (BVD), Guy Lonergan has been kind enough to share with us the latest results in a study designed to determine the prevalence, outcome, and health consequences associated with persistent infection with Bovine Viral Diarrhea Virus in feedlot cattle. 

Read the abstract

Locating an Invisible Problem (Editorial by Bruce W. Hoffman, DVM)

"Lately, it seems everywhere I travel for work, or read within my veterinary publications are questions about BVD.  So I've had to ask myself, what priority should the BVD problem have in our industry?"...  API editorial by Bruce W. Hoffman, DVM

Read the editorial

If you have any comments about the information in this newsletter, e-mail us at hq@animalprofiling.com.  We want to hear from you.

© 2005. Herd Mentality is produced and distributed by Animal Profiling International, a technology company dedicated to animal health. You can subscribe to the newsletter at the Animal Profiling International Website.