The 2023 International All Things BLV Conference was hosted by Michigan State University. The agenda included speakers from six countries on three continents and sought to create community around this issue that would enable future collaboration.
Producer and veterinary experiences were a critical part of this conference largely devoted to results characterizing Bovine Leukemia Virus (BLV) found by researchers. They addressed how BLV happens on the ground, what types of management decisions were made and remade to manage BLV and provided practical recommendations to producers.
The panelists were Don Niles, DVM and operations manager for Pagel’s Ponderosa Dairy and Dairy Dreams farms in Wisconsin, Brent Wilson, owner and health manager of Wilson’s Centennial Farm of Carson City, Mich., and Shaun Huser, DVM, field veterinarian with Kansas State University. Each presented lessons they have learned over years of combating the disease.
Veterinary Perspective Niles has an incentive to eradicate BLV from the herds he manages since those herds are used as surrogate recipients for embryos from commercial bull studs. Export of the bulls to Europe and elsewhere requires dams of BLV-negative status. At the time of initial testing of the Dairy Dreams herd in 2017, more than 21% were ELISA-positive for BLV. ELISA is an assay that measures immune response to a specific disease, in this case, BLV.
They began to test all lactating and dry cows on the farm with an ELISA to distinguish animals that had been exposed. Initially they did not change practices to increase biosecurity within the farm. Soon they realized that testing without biosecurity is like bailing a leaky boat with a small bucket. On the same token, Niles said the corollary is that biosecurity without testing will take too long to achieve eradication. Both testing and biosecurity are essential to eradicate the disease.
Commercial Dairy Producer Perspective Brent Wilson told conference attendees that BLV cramps his style, and he wants to get rid of it. He started paying serious attention to BLV after a herd test as part of a study with Michigan State University (MSU) showed the level in his herd to be much higher than he believed. They were already changing needles and continue to do so. Later, herd personnel and veterinarian began changing exam sleeves on all heifers and cows.
Wilson said he was interested in improving their fly control because he recognizes that it is a problem despite spraying every three weeks during the season and additionally in hot weather. It seemed to him that they are always playing catch-up with the fly population.
One of the startling things that testing showed him was that 18% of heifers were apparently freshening with the disease. Typically, BLV is thought to be a disease that spreads among the milking herd and that only a few animals may be infected as youngstock. This, however, showed there is a problem of disease spread before heifers have their first calf which made Wilson wonder when the heifers became infected. Wilson volunteered to be a cooperator on an MSU project where heifers were sampled at key points in their lives beginning soon after birth. Infection rates were very low at this but increased right before first breeding.
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Categories: Michigan, Livestock, Beef Cattle