Voluntary BVD Control and Eradication Project

Spring 2008

Background. Persistent BVD can be a drain on any cow-calf operation. WSU recently launched a BVD herd screening program that can help calf producers and their veterinarian detect and then cull persistently infected BVD animals from their herd. Dr. John Wenz, who recently replaced Dr. Clive Gay at WSU’s Field Disease Investigative Unit, is leading the Voluntary BVD Control and Eradication Project.

How the program works. The herd is screened by taking an ear notch from all calves, retained open cows, and bulls. If the calf is negative, its dam is as well. Most ranchers do this work at branding, so the time is relatively short to sign up for this project. Cost of the screening is $1/ head.

Information sessions. In order to explain the project and answer your questions about BVD, Dr. Wenz has scheduled three telephone conference calls during the lunch hour on the following dates: March 14, 19, and 24th from noon until 1 p.m. Dr. Wenz will begin the conference call with a 10 minute overview of BVD and the project, and callers may ask questions thereafter. You may call in anytime during the lunch hour.

RSVP. If you are interested in participating in one of the telephone conferences, please contact Brandon Freitas at 509-335-8225. You may leave a message. Brandon would like your contact information (name and telephone number), what date you plan to call in, and whether you need background information mailed in advance (if so, leave mailing address).

Call in. For the telephone conference, call 509-335-1700. When prompted by the recording, press 1 to attend a meeting, and then enter the meeting identification number 6057 followed by the “#” key.

More information. If you have questions about the teleconference or the BVD project, feel free to contact Dr. John Wenz at 509-335-0773 or by e-mail at BVDCEP@vetmed.wsu.edu . You may also browse to the Voluntary BVD Control & Eradaciation Web Page.

Download Dr. Wenz' slide set for his telephone presentation here (1,104 KB, pdf)
Browse to links to more BVD information here .

Click here for printable version.