Abstract

Bovine Viral Diarrhoea (BVD) is a highly prevalent and infectious viral disease found in cattle in New Zealand, and in many other countries around the world. It is a widespread disease and it is estimated that up to 60% of NZ dairy and beef cows have been exposed to BVD (BVD Steering Committee 2017, http://www.controlbvd.org.nz).

The BVD virus (pestivirus) has damaging effects on the health, reproductive performance, growth, and productivity of a dairy herd and sometimes causes death. The production losses are significant; estimated annual losses for NZ dairy farmers are around $127 million. The cost for our beef farmers is around $3000-$9000 per 100 cows in infected herds (BVD Steering Committee 2017, http://www.controlbvd.org.nz). BVD is a serious threat to our farmers, but also to New Zealand’s economy...

AD, Lowe

Proceedings of the New Zealand Society of Animal Production, Volume 77, Rotorua, 93-94, 2017