Engaging veterinarians and farmers in eradicating bovine viral diarrhoea: a systematic review of economic impact

Abstract

Bovine viral diarrhoea (BVD) is a significant drain on efficient and successful cattle production in both dairy and beef systems around the world. Several countries have achieved eradication of this disease, but always through the motivation of stakeholders who accept the benefits of eradication. These include increased cattle welfare and fitness of cattle to withstand other diseases, and decreased costs of production, the latter resulting from both decreased costs spent on managing the disease and decreased losses. This paper provides a systematic review of 31 papers, published between 1991 and 2015, that address the economic impact of BVD. Each paper takes a different approach, in either beef or dairy production or both. However with the breadth of work collated, a stakeholder engaged in BVD eradication should find an economic figure of most relevance to them. The reported economic impact ranges from £0 to £552 per cow per year (£2370 including outliers). This range represents endemic or subclinical disease situations seen in herds with stable BVD virus infection, and epidemic or severe acute situations, most often seen in naïve herds. The outcome of infection is therefore dependent on the immune status of the animal and severity of the strain. The variations in figures for the economic impact of BVD relate to these immune and pathogenicity factors, along with the variety of impacts monitored.

Prostaglandin A1 inhibits the replication of bovine viral diarrhea virus

“… 1 The disease caused by BVDV ranges in severity from asymptomatic to acute infection and fatal mucosal disease, with a mortality index of approximately 5%, which leads to an economic impact of BVDV infections of up to £993 per cow per year. 2 …”

A novel intracellularly expressed NS5B-specific nanobody suppresses bovine viral diarrhea virus replication

“…Bovine viral diarrhea (BVD), which is caused by BVD virus (BVDV) infection, is one of the most important viral diseases of cattle, causing enormous economic losses to the livestock industry worldwide (Suda et al, 2018). At the same time, it is also one of the main pollutants of cattle-derived biological products (Yarnall and Thrusfield, 2017). Due to the complexity of disease pathogenesis, there is no effective means to control or treat BVDV infection (Quinet et al, 2016).…”

An Assessment of Secondary Clinical Disease, Milk Production and Quality, and the Impact on Reproduction in Holstein Heifers and Cows from a Single Large Commercial Herd Persistently Infected with Bovine Viral Diarrhea Virus Type 2

“…BVDV is responsible for significant monetary losses to producers that have been estimated to range between $0.50 to $687.80 US dollars per infected animal per year [1]. Losses have been reported to be associated with morbidity, mortality, premature voluntary culling, reduced slaughter value, stillbirths, abortion and other reproductive losses, the cost of veterinary services and treatments, the cost of replacement stock, the costs of additional labor and reduction in milk production [1][2][3].…”