A survey of bovine viral diarrhea virus testing in diagnostic laboratories in the United States from 2004 to 2005

Bovine viral diarrhea virus (BVDV) has a great economic impact on the United States cattle industry. The Academy of Veterinary Consultants, the American Association of Bovine Practitioners, and the National Cattlemen's Beef Association have called for the goal of BVDV control and eventual eradication in the USA. One of the key factors in such efforts will be the detection of BVDV infections, particularly targeting persistently infected animals. To assess current BVDV detection methods in the USA, 26 veterinary diagnostic laboratories in 23 states were surveyed. Survey questions related to the types of tests currently offered, the number of tests performed, the reasons for test requests, the type of samples used, whether sample pooling was performed, and whether follow-up testing or information regarding bovine viral diarrhea (BVD) management was provided after positive tests. There was no clear consensus on an individual BVDV testing method, the pooling of samples or the retesting of positive animals. Ear-notch antigen capture enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ACE) was the test most frequently performed based on the absolute number of tests. However, when the data were adjusted to reflect individual laboratory choices, the number of ACE and immunohistochemistry tests performed on ear notches was nearly equal. Only 55% of diagnostic laboratories provided BVD management information to producers or veterinarians who submitted positive samples. There was no significant difference in the number of positive tests in laboratories that received the majority of their samples for screening purposes versus laboratories that received the majority of their samples because BVDV was suspected based on clinical signs in a herd.