BRSV is a common cause of respiratory illness in calves. It can have lasting and even deadly effects. Prevention is the only effective measure to control it.

As temperatures drop and winter sets in, beef cattle face increased stress due to cold weather, fluctuating feed intake and higher energy demands for thermoregulation. These stressors can suppress the immune system, making cattle more susceptible to respiratory diseases, digestive issues and other illnesses.

The earlier BRD is detected and treated, the better the opportunity to minimize lung damage. If it’s not caught quickly, cattle will be less likely to respond to antibiotic treatment and will be at a greater risk for relapse or mortality.

When it comes to any disease treatment, it’s imperative to match the drug to the bug – or in other words, use the correct class of antibiotic to control the disease-causing bacteria at hand. The same holds for anti-infectives used to treat bovine respiratory disease (BRD).

Phenotype is what puts pounds on calves, beef in bellies and dollars in bank accounts. While significant genetic progress has never been more attainable, optimizing an environment to fully take advantage of that careful genetic selection remains a challenge for many producers.

As we prepare to build back the U.S. beef herd and reduce the diseases threatening U.S. beef production, farmers and ranchers should consider how to protect their animals and operations before it is too late.

The challenge in controlling BRD is to identify and quantify the factors that account for the immunosuppression. This is easier said than done, since knowledge of biomarkers for quantification of stress is incomplete and chuteside implementation is not yet possible.

Bovine respiratory disease (BRD) is one of the leading health concerns impacting heifer calves, even on the best-managed dairies. These calves are the future of a dairy operation, and well-prepared farm care teams can ensure BRD is managed effectively for long-term success.

Many useful pharmaceutical products have been developed to treat BRD; however, effective implementation of a preventive strategy has been elusive. A further complication is the absence of an experimental model that replicates the most common clinical symptoms.