Prevalence of serum antibodies to bovine herpesvirus-1 and bovine viral diarrhea virus in beef cattle in Uruguay.

Our objective was to determine the prevalence of serum antibodies to bovine herpesvirus-1 (BHV-1) and bovine viral diarrhea (BVD) virus in beef cattle in Uruguay. A random sample of 230 herds selected with probability proportional to population size based on the number of cattle was chosen from a list frame of all registered livestock farms as of June 1999. Sera from up to 10 heifers, cows and bulls (up to 30 sera total per herd) were collected on selected farms between March 2000 and March 2001 and evaluated by means of enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISAs). Overall, 6358 serum samples were evaluated. We also collected data on previous diagnosis of BHV-1 or BVD infections and on the use of vaccines against these agents.