Like colds and the flu in humans, bovine respiratory disease complex, aka BRD or BRDC, occur most frequently in cattle in the winter. Vaccinations and antibiotics are both available as defenses but eradication of the disease entirely, or at least finding a cheaper and more effective treatment or cure, is the preferred answer to this prevailing animal health challenge. It looks like that answer will soon come from new genetic research.
Today BRD prevention is primarily achieved through good nutrition and vaccinations. Antibiotics can be used once BRD strikes but even when the treatment is successful, farmers can still lose money to the illness. To understand how the disease affects an animal, view this video on the disease process.
“It used to be called shipping fever because it occurred often when mixing cattle from different locations and putting them in close quarters,” said Texas A&M Professor James Womack in an interview with Cattle Network. “It spreads like a cold or flu. It’s a complex disease caused by multiple different species of bacteria and viruses. Symptoms include runny nose and difficulty breathing.”
Since BRD is widely considered the biggest health challenge for beef and dairy producers, eradicating the disease entirely is a highly desired goal. Researchers are now looking for ways to breed susceptibility out of the lineage and to counter the disease in animals living today with genetic based treatments.