Beaudeau et al. Acta Veterinaria Scandinavica 2010, 52:33 http://www.actavetscand.com/content/52/1/33 Page 6 of 7 Figure 3 Areas with high or low prevalences of (a) BCV and (b) BRSV, obtained by a spatial scan statistic (Kulldorff, 1997), using the cen- troids of the three-digit postal code areas as coordinates (p < 0.01). © Lantmäteriverket Gävle 2010 Permission number I 2010/0055. Figure 4 The population of Swedish beef herds presented as den- sity by three-digit postal code area (2007). ©Lantmäteriverket Gävle 2010. Permission number I 2010/0055. BRSV infections, when compared to conventional herds [30]. To quantify the relative impact of potential risk fac- tors for a herd to be detected as BCV or BRSV-infected (e.g. trade intensity, density of dairy herds, herd size, bio- security measures, type and number of visitors), studies could be conducted by comparing herd characteristics and management practices in the low and high-risk areas identified. The results of such studies would enlighten the choice of relevant strategies to control BCV and BRSV infections not only in Sweden, but also in other areas where herds have to some extent similar characteristics. Conclusions The present study shows that BCV and BRSV infections in beef cattle are not equally distributed throughout Swe- den and higher-prevalence areas are located in the same southern parts of the country. These results form a basis for further investigations of between-herds dynamics and risk factors for these infections aiming to design effective control strategies. They are also of interest and could be utilized for risk-based approaches in the surveillance of absent or emerging infectious diseases in cattle. Competing interests The authors declare that they have no competing interests. Authors' contributions FB participated in the design of the study, performed the statistical analyses and drafted the manuscript. CB participated in the design of the study and helped to draft the manuscript. SA helped to draft the manuscript. JF partici- pated in the design of the study, contributed to the statistical analysis and helped to draft the manuscript. All authors read and approved the final manu- script.