Evaluation of practices used to reduce the incidence of bovine respiratory disease in Australian feedlots (to November 2021)

Abstract

Bovine respiratory disease (BRD) has been identified as the most significant infectious disease of feedlot cattle in eastern Australia.1 Bovine respiratory disease causes economic loss due to medication costs, mortalities, excessive feed inputs associated with increased time on feed, reduced sale prices and associated labour costs. Bovine respiratory disease is a complex multifactorial condition with multiple animal, environmental and management risk factors predisposing cattle to illness. A range of microorganisms are implicated in BRD with at least four viral and five bacterial species commonly involved individually or in combination. The viruses most commonly associated with BRD in Australia are bovine herpesvirus 1 (BHV1), bovine viral diarrhoea virus (BVDV or bovine pestivirus), bovine parainfluenza 3 virus (PI3) and bovine respiratory syncytial virus (BRSV). More recently, bovine coronavirus has been identified as a potential viral contributor to BRD in Australia.2 A number of bacterial species have also been recognised as important to the BRD complex; these include Mannheimia haemolytica, Pasteurella multocida, Histophilus somni, Trueperella pyogenes and Mycoplasma bovis. Although one or more of the pathogens listed above can be isolated from clinical cases of BRD, there is no evidence that infection alone causes serious illness. This indicates that, in addition to specific infectious agents, other factors are crucial for the development of BRD under field conditions. These can be categorised as environmental, animal and management risk factors. These risk factors are likely to exert their effects through multiple pathways including reductions in systemic and possibly local immunity. For example, stressors such as weaning, handling at saleyards, transport, dehydration, weather conditions, dietary changes, comingling and pen competition might reduce the effectiveness of the immune system. Reduced immunocompetence can allow opportunistic infection of the lower airways with potential pathogens leading to the development of BRD. The objective of this paper is to critically review the evidence for management practices aimed at reducing the incidence of BRD in Australian feedlot cattle. Predisposing factors (Table 1) largely beyond the control of most feedlots, such as weather and exposure to respiratory viruses, are discussed separately, but these factors can generate indirect prevention responses that are discussed under the preventative practices categories. The current practices are classified as either animal preparation practices (Table 2) or feedlot management practices (Table 3).