Incidence, epidemiology and control of bovine virus diarrhoea virus in South America

Outbreaks of diarrhoea associated with mucosal erosions of the mouth, tongue and digestive tract, clinically diagnosed as bovine virus diarrhoea-mucosal disease (BVD-MD), have been reported in Argentina and Brazil since the 1960's. However, primary isolation of the virus of BVD-MD is fairly recent, occurring in 1974 for Brazil, 1984 for Argentina, 1985 for Chile and 1981 for Colombia. In Argentina both cytopathogenic and non-cytopathogenic BVD virus strains have been identified. Elsewhere in South America this differentiation does not seem to have been carried out. Serological surveys have confirmed the existence of BVD virus infection in six countries (Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Peru and Uruguay), with an incidence rate ranging between 37 and 77% of cattle in the areas surveyed. Diarrhoea in calves between 3 and 18 months of age, often associated with mucosal erosions, has been the most commonly observed syndrome. In some cases an upper respiratory tract involvement was described. In one epizootic, in the Sabana de Bogota plateau of Colombia, reproductive failure associated with abortions or birth of weak calves was the main clinical syndrome.