August 2024
Respiratory Panel Results: 2023
By Dr. Gregg A. Hanzlicek
As we move into the months when bovine respiratory disease becomes a more common issue, we wanted to show our clients a summary of some of the 2023 Bovine Respiratory PCR Panel results.
For all graphs:
Lower = lung tissue or swabs or transtracheal washes
Upper = nasal swabs or deep pharyngeal swabs
An almost equal number of tests were completed on antemortem and postmortem cases as indicated in the graph below.
Graph 1
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The number of bacteria and viruses from bovine lung and swabs are presented in Graph 2. The predominant pathogen found in post-mortem samples was Mycoplasma bovis. Beginning about five years ago we began to see an increase in the number of Histophilus somni positive samples. In 2023 H. somni was identified as often as Mannheimia hemolytica and more common than Pasteurella multocida in postmortem samples, and almost as often in antemortem samples. Many of our Midwest clients are reporting more issues with Histophilus compared to previous years. Our data seems to support this. IBR continues to be identified in only a small number of upper respiratory samples and is rarely found in lung samples.
Graph 2
Graph 3 highlights the most common two-pathogen combinations. The organism most often found in combination with other organisms was M. bovis; this is not surprising given many submissions are from BRD cases that are not responding to treatment (chronics) or from animals that have died. It is somewhat surprising that the second most common combination included bovine respiratory coronavirus (BCoV). The role of this organism as a BRD pathogen is somewhat controversial and poorly understood. More and more studies are suggesting that BCoV’s role should be considered in herd BRD outbreaks.
Given the prevalence of BVD persistently infected (PI) animals present in many populations is zero, it is somewhat surprising the number of combinations that contained BVD. KSVDL has genetically sequenced most of the BVD positive samples and almost all 2023 were identified as field strains and not vaccine strains. This reinforces the need to consider BVD in BRD outbreaks, especially when appropriate treatments are not effective.
Graph 3
KSVDL is offering a 20% discount on all Bovine Respiratory PCR panels through December 31, 2024. Additionally, volume discounts are available when more than 1 pooled (or individual) sample (2-5 samples per pool) is submitted on any accession.