Abstract
Bovine viral diarrhoea (BVD) remains an issue despite control programs implemented worldwide. Virus introduction can occur through contacts with neighbouring herds. Vaccination can locally protect exposed herds. However, virus spread depends on herd characteristics, which may impair vaccination efficiency. Using a within-herd epidemiological model, we compared three French cow-calf farming systems named by their main breed: Charolaise, Limousine, and Blonde d’Aquitaine. We assessed vaccination strategies of breeding females assuming two possible protections: against infection or against vertical transmission. Four commercial vaccines were considered: Bovilis®, Bovela®, Rispoval®, and Mucosiffa®. We tested various virus introduction frequency in a naïve herd. We calculated BVD economic impact and vaccination reward. In Charolaise, BVD economic impact was 113€ per cow over 5 years after virus introduction. Irrespective of the vaccine and for a high enough risk of introduction, the yearly expected reward was 0.80€ per invested euro per cow. Vaccination should not be stopped before herd exposure has been decreased. In contrast, the reward was almost nil in Blonde d’Aquitaine and Limousine. This highlights the importance of accounting for herd specificities to assess BVD impact and vaccination efficiency. To guide farmers’ vaccination decisions against BVD, we transformed this model into a French decision support tool.
Highlights
Accepted: 21 September 2021Bovine viral diarrhoea (BVD) is a worldwide endemic disease of cattle [1], leading to abortions, delayed calving and mortality [2]
When animals spend a long time outdoor on pasture, such as in French cow-calf herds, there is a particular risk of virus introduction through proximity contacts between neighbouring herds at a period when many females are gestating [10]
Our objective was to assess the economic impact of BVD and the reward associated with vaccination against BVD in French beef cow-calf herds, taking into account the characteristics of the farming systems the most commonly encountered in France, as well as the external risk of virus introduction due to proximity contacts and the characteristics of the vaccine
Summary
Accepted: 21 September 2021Bovine viral diarrhoea (BVD) is a worldwide endemic disease of cattle [1], leading to abortions, delayed calving and mortality [2]. PI animals massively shed the virus for life They have a shortened lifespan, half dying in their first year [7]. They represent a risk for other animals as well as for herds in contact. Contacts with neighbouring herds on pasture and the purchases of animals potentially carrying the virus lead to regular virus reintroductions [8,9]. When animals spend a long time outdoor on pasture, such as in French cow-calf herds, there is a particular risk of virus introduction through proximity contacts between neighbouring herds at a period when many females are gestating [10]
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