Most of the time we think of Bovine Viral Diarrhoea (BVD) as a disease that affects the cow and the unborn calf, but BVD will also negatively affect the bulls themselves.
Transiently infected (TI) bulls will shed the BVD virus in their semen while they are infected, reducing the quality of the semen.
All breeding bulls should have been vaccinated to prevent them from getting infected by any TI or PI (persistently infected) animals that they come into contact with. This is not always done unfortunately.
Because of this, it is up to you to look into the background of your bulls.
When you are buying in or leasing bulls, it is important that you confirm they have received the appropriate vaccinations before they come onto your farm.
It is also a good idea to make sure they have been individually blood tested for the BVD antigen, to check they are not PI bulls themselves that will spread BVD to your other animals.
BVD in cows tends to cause underlying production loss. However, if the disease comes into a herd over the critical period of mating, it can have a significant effect on calving rate as well.
Prevention is key to minimise the effects BVD can have on cattle health.
