The number of calves tested in the year to date as part of the Bovine Viral Diarrhoea (BVD) national eradication programme is running at 1,832,437 head.

This represents an increase of 48,841 calves on the corresponding 23-week period in 2019. While the number of tests carried out is higher, the incidence of BVD thankfully continues to fall.

As detailed in Table 1, the number of calves identified as persistently infected (PI) based on an initial tissue tag test and without confirmatory testing has reduced from 712 in 2019 to 525 calves in 2020. The number of herds identifying PI calves has also significantly reduced from 403 herds in the first 23 weeks of 2019 to 276 herds in 2020.

Restrictions on movement for herds retaining PI calves introduced in recent years and higher compensation payments for swift removal of calves off farm is reported as helping to underpin the continued improvement in performance.

Pre-2013 testing

Earlier this week Minister for Agriculture Michael Creed expressed his satisfaction with the current efforts to eradicate BVD: “Incidence of PIs [persistent infections] have fallen to 0.04 % at the end of 2019, down from 0.66% at the end of 2013 – the first year of the compulsory phase of the eradication programme.”

The Department of Agriculture is taking further measures to advance the eradication programme, with the introduction of new legislation in May which now makes it compulsory to test animals born prior to 1 January 2013 and remaining on farms.

The Minister said this affects a “small number of herds”, with many herds voluntarily testing these animals in recent years.

The Department will shortly be writing to these herds to notify them of their obligation to test.