The new National Beef Welfare Scheme (NBWS) will pay farmers €15/head for infectious bovine rhinotracheitis (IBR) testing up to 20 head, in addition to the €35/cow-calf pair for meal feeding calves pre- and post-weaning.
What is the disease, how common is it in Irish suckler herds and how can it be controlled?
Read on to find out.
What is IBR?
IBR is mainly associated with pneumonia and death, but can also result in reproductive losses, such as the abortion of calves.
Clinical signs of the disease include rapid breathing, discharge from the nose or eyes, weight loss and high temperatures.
The effects can vary from being mild to severe and different herds will respond differently to infection, as will animals within the same herd.
Factors thought to influence the severity of the disease include whether a herd is vaccinated, whether there are any other infections present and whether cattle have generally good immunity to disease.
How common is the disease in suckler herds?
At least one IBR-infected animal is estimated to be contained in between 70% and 80% of all Irish herds, with beef and dairy herds both “very likely to be infected”, according to Animal Health Ireland.
How does the disease spread?
Maintaining secure field boundaries helps to minimise the chances of nose-to-nose contact between your cattle and those of a neighbouring herd, which may have IBR.
The disease is spread by animals with a primary or secondary infection most commonly through nose-to-nose contact, but it can spread between animals over short distances in the air, for example from one pen of housed cattle to another in the same shed.
It can also spread in the semen of infected bulls.
What farm activities can put your herd at a higher risk of contracting IBR?
Any activity where cattle from one herd mix with those from another herd is considered to put your cattle at higher risk of contracting IBR.
These activities could include mixing stock during transport, at agricultural shows or marts, sharing stock bulls between separate herds, poor boundary fencing and having animals break in or out of your farm.
How can I help prevent IBR entering my herd?
Keeping a closed herd with strong biosecurity measures for those visiting the farm can help keep the disease out of your herd.
Isolating and possibly culling infected animals can help stop the disease spreading if it does enter, as will vaccination.
Which animals are most at risk of contracting IBR?
As mentioned above, infected animals can spread IBR through nose-to-nose contact. This puts newly born calves from previously infected suckler cows at particular risk, as well as cows and heifers mated to an infected bull.
How much does the disease cost Irish farmers?
It is estimated that IBR costs Irish farmers €100m per year. / Ramona Farrelly
The Department of Agriculture estimates that the economic impact of the disease exceeds €100m each year.
What are the stages of infection and what happens at each stage?
An animal that has never been infected is classed as being naïve to the disease.
A primary infection occurs when an animal is first infected and is the only step that shows up clinical signs.
These primary infected cattle shed large amounts of the virus that pose a risk to other uninfected cattle in the herd.
A latent infection follows an animal’s recovery from a primary infection - it becomes a carrier, but does not shed the virus.
During periods of stress or re-exposure to the virus, the disease can reactivate to cause a secondary infection that usually shows no clinical signs.
However, the virus sheds from these animals and can spread to other uninfected cattle.
How can I treat IBR?
Treatment varies on a case-by-case basis, so it is recommended that a vet is consulted on suspected or confirmed cases of IBR.
For clinical cases, a vet may advise isolating the IBR-positive animal and vaccinating the sick and at-risk animals with an intranasal vaccination to reduce clinical signs and disease transmission.
The infection cannot be eradicated from an animal at the latent stage, but vaccination can help to reduce the incidence of reactivation and progression to the IBR-shedding secondary infection stage.
Read more
Department launches new scheme for suckler farmers
Shock at IBR testing rule in new €50/cow suckler scheme
Shedding some light on IBR in beef herds
The new National Beef Welfare Scheme (NBWS) will pay farmers €15/head for infectious bovine rhinotracheitis (IBR) testing up to 20 head, in addition to the €35/cow-calf pair for meal feeding calves pre- and post-weaning.
What is the disease, how common is it in Irish suckler herds and how can it be controlled?
Read on to find out.
What is IBR?
IBR is mainly associated with pneumonia and death, but can also result in reproductive losses, such as the abortion of calves.
Clinical signs of the disease include rapid breathing, discharge from the nose or eyes, weight loss and high temperatures.
The effects can vary from being mild to severe and different herds will respond differently to infection, as will animals within the same herd.
Factors thought to influence the severity of the disease include whether a herd is vaccinated, whether there are any other infections present and whether cattle have generally good immunity to disease.
How common is the disease in suckler herds?
At least one IBR-infected animal is estimated to be contained in between 70% and 80% of all Irish herds, with beef and dairy herds both “very likely to be infected”, according to Animal Health Ireland.
How does the disease spread?
Maintaining secure field boundaries helps to minimise the chances of nose-to-nose contact between your cattle and those of a neighbouring herd, which may have IBR.
The disease is spread by animals with a primary or secondary infection most commonly through nose-to-nose contact, but it can spread between animals over short distances in the air, for example from one pen of housed cattle to another in the same shed.
It can also spread in the semen of infected bulls.
What farm activities can put your herd at a higher risk of contracting IBR?
Any activity where cattle from one herd mix with those from another herd is considered to put your cattle at higher risk of contracting IBR.
These activities could include mixing stock during transport, at agricultural shows or marts, sharing stock bulls between separate herds, poor boundary fencing and having animals break in or out of your farm.
How can I help prevent IBR entering my herd?
Keeping a closed herd with strong biosecurity measures for those visiting the farm can help keep the disease out of your herd.
Isolating and possibly culling infected animals can help stop the disease spreading if it does enter, as will vaccination.
Which animals are most at risk of contracting IBR?
As mentioned above, infected animals can spread IBR through nose-to-nose contact. This puts newly born calves from previously infected suckler cows at particular risk, as well as cows and heifers mated to an infected bull.
How much does the disease cost Irish farmers?
It is estimated that IBR costs Irish farmers €100m per year. / Ramona Farrelly
The Department of Agriculture estimates that the economic impact of the disease exceeds €100m each year.
What are the stages of infection and what happens at each stage?
An animal that has never been infected is classed as being naïve to the disease.
A primary infection occurs when an animal is first infected and is the only step that shows up clinical signs.
These primary infected cattle shed large amounts of the virus that pose a risk to other uninfected cattle in the herd.
A latent infection follows an animal’s recovery from a primary infection - it becomes a carrier, but does not shed the virus.
During periods of stress or re-exposure to the virus, the disease can reactivate to cause a secondary infection that usually shows no clinical signs.
However, the virus sheds from these animals and can spread to other uninfected cattle.
How can I treat IBR?
Treatment varies on a case-by-case basis, so it is recommended that a vet is consulted on suspected or confirmed cases of IBR.
For clinical cases, a vet may advise isolating the IBR-positive animal and vaccinating the sick and at-risk animals with an intranasal vaccination to reduce clinical signs and disease transmission.
The infection cannot be eradicated from an animal at the latent stage, but vaccination can help to reduce the incidence of reactivation and progression to the IBR-shedding secondary infection stage.
Read more
Department launches new scheme for suckler farmers
Shock at IBR testing rule in new €50/cow suckler scheme
Shedding some light on IBR in beef herds
This is a subscriber-only article
SHARING OPTIONS: