Abstract
A prospective field study in heifers from birth to first breeding was undertaken on two commercial dairies to assess the effect of bovine viral diarrhea virus (BVDV) congenital and post-natal infection (PNI) on fertility. A high BVDV Type 2 antibody titer (1:4096) at 10 months of age was associated with 32 more days to conceive, compared with a low titer (1:128). Conversely, infection with BVDV by 5-6 months of age and high BVDV Type 2 titers 1 month before conception or breeding was associated with improved fertility. Heifers with evidence of congenital BVDV infection had lower fertility than non-infected heifers (15-42 days longer time-to-first AI), which depended on BVDV Type 2 titers at 10 months of age. Neospora caninum infection was associated with additional services per conception (SPC) and Leptospira interrogans infection was associated with a delay in the time-to-first breeding. It appears that under field conditions, the effect of subclinical BVDV infection on subsequent heifer fertility may be due to a complex of interrelationships among multiple BVDV infections that depend on the type and timing of infection relative to reproductive development and events.
Original language | English (US) |
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Pages (from-to) | 1085-1099 |
Number of pages | 15 |
Journal | Theriogenology |
Volume | 61 |
Issue number | 6 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - Apr 15 2004 |
Keywords
- BVDV
- Fertility
- Leptospira
- Neospora caninum
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Small Animals
- Food Animals
- Animal Science and Zoology
- Equine