Bovine Viral Diarrhoea History of Calves Can Now Be Checked Online

UK – A database providing verification of negative test results for Bovine Viral Diarrhoea (BVD) has been announced by a leading veterinary company.
calendar icon 10 July 2014
clock icon 1 minute read

Announced this week by XL Vets, the central, fully accessible web-based database is central the ‘BVD Check Tag’ initiative.

This uses branded white ear tags as part of a BVD testing procedure showing an animal that has been tested, providing easy identification for calf buyers to check results on line before purchasing stock.

The main aims of the initiative are to improve the identification of source farms and reduce the risks of infected persistently infected (PI) calves moving from unit to unit, thereby stemming the spread of the disease.

“BVD is primarily spread by PIs, which are calves born from cows that are infected with BVD,” explains Dan Humphries from the XLVets’ practice Lambert, Leonard and May.

“These PI calves often appear normal but will spread infection to other cattle that they come into contact with. It’s therefore critical that we remove these animals from the breeding herd and also ensure that they are not sold into other herds.

“By identifying PIs, ideally shortly after birth and certainly before they move from their home unit, we can minimise the spread of BVD and also offer more targeted control programmes in herds that are identified as infected.”

The scheme is voluntary with tests carried out by tissue sampling technology.

TheCattleSite News Desk

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