Control of bovine virus diarrhoea at the herd level: Reducing the risk of false negatives in the detection of persistently infected cattle

The need to detect and eliminate cattle persistently infected (PI) with bovine viral diarrhoea virus (BVDV) is key to the control of BVD and has been shown to be very effective in eradicating BVDV from infected herds. However, because of pitfalls in the detection procedures, some PI animals can be missed and, as a result, are not identified and removal is delayed. The high prevalence of BVDV in cattle populations in some countries (such as Belgium and neighbouring countries) means there is a high risk of reinfection of a herd from which BVDV has been eradicated. Based on both practical experience and a literature study, this review considers those points that are critical to minimising the number of false negatives in the detection of PI cattle.