Bulk Milk BVD Monitor Pack & PI Hunt tool

We test three bulk milk samples over a six-month period. We get the bulk milk samples from your dairy company at the following times:

1. September to October (before mating).
2. A fortnight later to check whether the results have changed.
3. Late February to early March to check for any changes in your herd’s BVD status after natural mating bulls have been with the herd.

We test the first two samples for:

• the BVD virus (PCR test)
• the antibodies animals produce in response to the virus (antibody ELISA test). The higher the antibody levels the more likely your herd is currently infected, or has been recently infected.

We test the third sample for BVD antibodies only.

If the BVD virus is detected in both the first and second tests we recommend a PI Hunt test to identify which animals are causing the problem. This allows you to cull PI animals before mating and reduce the risk of cows being exposed to the BVD virus during early pregnancy.

Invest in the pack annually for best results

Invest in a Bulk MiIk BVD Monitoring Pack every year to get a regular update on your herd’s BVD status — including its antibody levels. Low antibody levels indicate that your herd has a low natural immunity to BVD and may be vulnerable to infection. Talk to your vet about what you can do to protect your herd.

Results

We’ll email the results to you up to 3-5 days after we receive the bulk milk samples. We can also send the results by post if you don’t have email.

One-off bulk milk sample tests

We also offer two types of one-off bulk milk sample tests to monitor BVD in your herd:

• A one-off bulk milk test uses a bulk milk sample ordered from your dairy company to check your herd’s BVD status.
• A custom sample milk test uses a sample of milk you collect yourself. It may include milk from a smaller number of animals to narrow down the source of infection. Call us on 0800 436 362 to find out how to collect the milk sample.

Use the tests to detect:

• the BVD virus (PCR test) or
• BVD antibodies (antibody ELISA test).

Order a Bulk Milk BVD Monitoring Pack

You can order a Bulk Milk BVD Monitoring Pack by:

• calling 0800 436 362
• talking to your LIC rep
• completing a Bulk Milk BVD Monitoring Pack order form — Farmer and emailing it to [email protected]
• asking your vet to complete a Bulk Milk BVD Monitoring Pack order form — Vet and email it to [email protected].

Use these order forms to order a one-off bulk milk test or a custom sample milk test too.

BVD PI Hunt — identify PI animals for culling

Test individual milk samples from a routine herd test to identify PI animals so you can cull them and protect your herd.

Book a BVD PI Hunt test if the BVD virus is detected in your first two Bulk Milk BVD Monitoring tests.

You can test for the BVD virus in every milk sample from the herd test, or you can test samples from selected cows, such as heifers. Talk to your vet or our Animal Health Advisors team about which cows you should test.

Results

• We’ll email the results to you up to 5-7 days after we receive the milk samples. We can also send the results by post.
• All BVD results will be uploaded to MINDA to provide animals with a lifetime BVD status.
• An animal will be marked in MINDA as either Persistently Infected (PI) or Not Persistently Infected (NPI).
• If the test result is Probably PI (PPI), a retest is required for PI confirmation.