Seroprevalence of bovine viral diarrhoea virus in Hungary : situation before launching an eradication campaign

Abstract

Bovine viral diarrhoea through its various manifestations is the leading cause of economic loss in the Hungarian cattle industry. This study used ELISA analysis of blood samples taken from a cohort that would be representative of the national herd with the aim of determining prevalence of the disease nationwide. This was the first such survey in Hungary in over thirty years and has the potential to be used as a benchmark for further surveillance and the monitoring of an anticipated BVD eradication campaign. 1200 samples were taken from 54 herds, of which 521 (43.42%) proved positive, 40 (3.3%) were questionable and 639 (53.3%) were negative. Seronegativity of cows who had served multiple lactations indicated BVD-free status with the greatest degree of certainty. Some herds recorded low seropositivity (<5%) and could aim for BVD-free status by making small management changes and careful surveillance. The ratio of BVD-free herds was higher than expected (29.63%), based on previous studies using lower sample sizes and smaller geographic distributions. In conclusion, a well structured eradication campaign wtih the support and engagement of veterinarians and farmers would benefit Hungarian agriculture massively and could achieve results at the same rate as seen in other countries. It would be possible to enhance the efficiency of the campaign by running in parallel with that of another disease such as Infectious Bovine Rhinotracheitis.