Prevalence of Pathogens Related to Bovine Respiratory Disease Before and After Transportation in Beef Steers: Preliminary Results

• Published in: Animals (Basel) Vol. 9; no. 12; p. 1093
• Main Authors: Cirone, Francesco, Padalino, Barbara, Tullio, Daniele, Capozza, Paolo, Lo Surdo, Michele, Lanave, Gianvito, Pratelli, Annamaria
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Switzerland MDPI AG 06.12.2019; MDPI
• Subjects: Adenoviruses; Animals; Bacteria; Beef; Beef cattle; Beef industry; Cattle; Cattle diseases; Causes of; Coronaviruses; Diarrhea; Disease; Diseases; Distribution; Epidemiology; Etiology; Etiology (Medicine); Factory farming; Health aspects; Health risks; Histophilus somni; Hypotheses; Lung diseases; Mannheimia haemolytica; Microbiota; Microbiota (Symbiotic organisms); Mycoplasma bovis; Parainfluenza; Pasteurella multocida; Pathogenic microorganisms; Pathogens; Polymerase chain reaction; Respiratory diseases; Respiratory syncytial virus; Respiratory tract; Respiratory tract diseases; Shipments; Thermal cycling; Time; Tractor trailers; Transportation; Transportation industry; Travel; Vaccines; Veterinary medicine; Viruses; France; Italy; bovine respiratory disease; steer; journey; welfare
• ISSN: 2076-2615; 2076-2615
• DOI: 10.3390/ani9121093

Bovine respiratory disease (BRD) is a serious health and economic problem in the beef industry, which is often associated with transportation and caused by different pathogens. The prevalence of (BoHV-1), (BAdV), (BVDV), (BCoV), s (BRSV), (BPiV), , , , , in the nasal microbiota of beef steers before and after the same long-distance journey from France to southern Italy was documented Fifty-six Limousine animals of three different shipments, travelling on three different days from February to April, were included. Prior to shipment (T0) and four days after arrival (T1), two DNS/animal were collected and tested by Real Time quantitative PCR (qPCR). Univariate logistic regression was carried out, considering time and day as fixed factors and the outcome of qPCR for each pathogen as a dependent categorical dichotomous variable (positive/negative, 1/0). The fact that the number of positive animals were found to be higher in the third shipment than the first and second one, indicating that this pathogen was already present before loading, is relevant. The prevalence of BCoV, BRSV, , , was higher at T1 than T0, suggesting that other factors, such as stress and the epidemiological status of the arrival farm, played a role. The tested animals were not treated before and after transport, and our results are in agreement with the current literature, supporting the hypothesis that the prevalence of pathogens related to BRD would increase after travelling, with an increased risk of pathogens shedding.