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A New Tool for Battling BVD

by Troy Smith for Angus Journal

 

TAMPA, Fla. (Feb. 7, 2013) — A new decision-making program is available to aid cattle producers in responding to bovine viral diarrhea (BVD) infection or to help develop effective strategies for guarding their herds against infection. Developed collaboratively by veterinarians from several states and dubbed BVD CONSULT, the online teaching tool only recently became available. That sounds like the beginning to a sales pitch, but producers can access this product at no cost.

 

Kansas State University Veterinarian Bob Larson introduced the program to National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA) members attending a meeting of the Beef Cattle Herd Security/BVD Working Group, on Thursday, Feb. 7. The meeting was in conjunction with the 2013 Cattle Industry Convention in Tampa, Fla.

 

According to Larson, BVD Consult was designed to help producers and their veterinarians develop customized strategies. The program is based on decision-tree software like that used to teach medical students. By entering answers to a series of questions, BVD Consult will help identify specific challenges to the user’s own operation, assess risk and recommend solutions for control or prevention of BVD. Reports summarizing a recommended strategy can then be printed for the producer and his or her veterinarian.

 

“I hope this will help increase communication between producers and their veterinarians,” said Larson, noting that many producers remain relatively uninformed regarding BVD, and some mixed-practice veterinarians have little practical experience with the disease.

 

“After going though BVD Consult, even veterinarians with minimal BVD experience should be able to give pretty good advice,” said Larson, also suggesting this type of educational program could be applicable to other infectious diseases.

 

“My dream would be to do ‘Trich Consult’ next,” said Larson, referring to the problematic reproductive disease trichomoniasis. “It could work for others, too.”