Reproductive performance evaluation of a beef cattle herd naturally infected with the BoHV-1, BVDV and Leptospira hardjo

Abstract

The aim of this study was the evaluation of some reproductive rates of a beef cattle herd that were naturally infected by the bovine herpesvirus 1 (BoHV-1), bovine viral diarrhea virus (BVDV) and Leptospira hardjo. In a herd with 1331 females, we randomly selected 208 animals that were distributed in three groups: i) 60 virgin heifers; ii) 60 first suckling cows; iii) 88 cows with two or more sucklings. All groups were evaluated for infectious bovine rinothracheitis (IBR), bovine viral diarrhea (BVD), and leptospirosis serological profile, and the reproductive performance in a breeding station that had artificial insemination (AI) followed by bull repass. The IBR, BVD and leptospirosis seropositive rates in the three groups were 68.3%, 98.0% and 78.8%, respectively. The highest seropositives rates for the three infections simultaneously were obtained in the cows with two or more sucklings. The three groups presented low reproductive performance with 35.6% of repeat breeding; 18.6% of abortions, 2.3 semen doses by born calf, and 35.6% of born calves by AI. The lowest reproductive performance was observed in the virgin heifers group. The serological profile analysis before the breeding time with association with the results of some reproductive efficiency rates suggest the BoHV-1 and L. hardjo participation in the low reproductive performance observed in the beef cattle herd studied.