Risk Assessment Tool for Bovine Respiratory Disease in Dairy Calves

Abstract

Researchers at the University of California, Davis have developed a system to assess, estimate and devise a comprehensive control and prevention plan for bovine respiratory disease in pre-weaned dairy calves.

Full Description

Bovine Respiratory Diseases (BRD) is a complex disease that generally refers to inflammation of the upper or lower respiratory tracts of bovines. BRD is a major cause of death losses in both the US dairy and beef industry. Morbidity due to BRD results in loss of production, reduced carcass quality, and decreased health of the herd. Disease risk is typically assessed by herd veterinarians but currently, there are no assessment tools available to determine the risk of BRD in calf herds.

Researchers at the University of California, Davis have developed a risk assessment tool to evaluate and mitigate the risk of bovine respiratory disease in pre-weaned calf herds. The system comprises a disease risk questionnaire with scores that vary by strength of the association between a management practice and risk respiratory disease. Paired with the California BRD scoring system for diagnosis and prevalence estimation, users can benchmark their herd prevalence over time to monitor BRD risk.

The tool is transferable to computer devices including mobile phone applications. The system provides a variety of components, including a risk score, based on an evaluation of management factors, and statewide benchmarks for comparison of risk scores, and together with the CA BRD Scoring system which can be used to score calves. This unique combination of tools helps dairy producers, herd veterinarians and consultants assess the risk and burden of BRD in dairy calves, helps formulate a herd-specific control and prevention plan, as well as monitor disease progression over time.

Applications

• Early risk assessment tool for BRD in pre-weaned calves 
• CA scoring system to track and monitor ongoing cases of BRD

Features/Benefits

• Applicable to young pre-weaned calves for early BRD detection 
• Software is transferable to convenient computer and mobile phone formats 
• System includes variety of comprehensive tools to help accurately score the risk of BRD in a calf herd

Patent Status