Vaccination should be done 30 to 60 days before replacement heifers are to be bred, followed by a yearly booster vaccination. IBR virus is normally thought of as the cause of respiratory disease of cattle. Abortion occurs about 20 to 45 days after infection. An intranasal vaccine is available that can be used on pregnant cows, if necessary. Since IBR is very common and some IBR vaccines are not recommended for use in pregnant cows, it is advisable that heifers be vaccinated or revaccinated 30 to 60 days before breeding.
Diagnosis is by postmortem examination, virus isolation and blood tests.
The risk of these vaccination reactions should be weighed against the probability of losses resulting from BVD infection before a decision is made about using MLV-BVD vaccines. Appropriate recommendations should be made by the attending veterinarian after he has assessed the local BVD situation. Summary The reproductive diseases mentioned in this NebGuide comprise some of the more common problems confronting the cattle industry today. However, there are many other causes of reproductive failure that are of either infectious, toxic or hormonal origin. Management decisions can help minimize losses from reproductive diseases.