Rapid progress is being made in 2018 in eradicating BVD. The number of BVD positive herds and the number of persistently infected (PI) calves born have both halved compared with 2017.

This week, Animal Health Ireland (AHI) said that the BVD programme is on course to eradicate the disease by the target year of 2020.

The number of positive herds – that is herds in which a PI calf was born in 2018 – was 781 at the start of November, down from 1,512 at the same date in 2017. This means that 1.05% of herds are positive, down from 11.27% in 2013, when the programme got under way.

The number of PI calves born by the start of this month was 1,188, down from 2,180 a year ago. This means that 0.05% of calves born this year were PI, down from 0.66% in 2013.

Savings of €85m

In an interview with the Irish Farmers Journal, AHI said that the drop in PI calves born has saved farmers €85m in 2018 alone, after allowing for programme costs such as testing of calves.

Meeting the 2020 eradication target depends on farmers remaining compliant with legislation and the requirements of the programme. Early sample tagging of calves to give prompt detection of PIs and culling of these infected calves were the critical factors, it said.

AHI is currently considering recommendations from its BVD technical experts on enhancements to the programme in 2019.

These include a focus on ensuring that all calves are sampled and tested as soon as possible after birth, that positive calves are removed as rapidly as possible and that the small numbers of untested animals are addressed.

The latter include some cattle born prior to 2013 which are not covered by testing legislation.

Eradication

AHI is also looking at how the disease will be kept out of Ireland after eradication. One option being considered by AHI is to recommend a change in legislation so that all imported animals must have a negative BVD test.