Biotechnology and its future in bovine medicine

Abstract

The most significant technological advances that resulted in improvement in disease control in the last century include vaccinations and antibiotics. Vaccines became a popular method of disease control early in the century. In the late 1940's and early 1950's the introduction of antibiotics and pesticides had a dramatic effect on improving the health status of animals. Although a significant improvement in animal health care occurred, disease was not eliminated. Diseases and the related animal production continue to cause an estimated $15 to $16 billion dollars a year loss in the United States alone. New methods and approaches are needed to significantly improve upon these disease losses. Recent advances in the areas of molecular biology, immunochemistry and genetics have brought a number of new approaches and hopes for significantly reducing animal health and disease problems. In this manuscript we will address the applications of these newer technologies to disease diagnosis, vaccinations and the immunomodulators that may improve animal health.