DocTalk Ep 710 Biosecurity & Cattle Disease Testing with Dr. Dustin Loy

Описание: Biosecurity isn’t just a buzzword anymore—when cattle are this valuable, preventing disease introduction can save you major losses in performance, replacements, and herd longevity.

In this episode of DocTalk, Dr. Dan Thomson visits the Nebraska Veterinary Diagnostic Center at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln with Dr. Dustin Loy, veterinarian, microbiologist, and Director of the Diagnostic Center, to talk practical biosecurity and the power of diagnostics for managing infectious disease risk in beef herds.

✅ In this episode, we cover:

What biosecurity really means for cattle operations (animal movement, people, equipment, feed, and fomites)

Why the biggest disease risk usually moves with the animal

How pre-purchase planning, testing, and smart sourcing can reduce risk before cattle ever arrive

Quarantine vs. diagnostics—and how testing can help tighten decision timelines

The difference between transient infection vs. lifelong carriers that can shed disease for years

🧪 Key diseases discussed (and why they matter):

Johne’s disease: long incubation, difficult early detection, chronic diarrhea/wasting, and why testing at preg-check can help

Anaplasmosis: rising concern in northern areas, tick/vector spread, adult cow death loss risk, and why testing replacements matters

BVD (Bovine Viral Diarrhea): why persistently infected (PI) calves keep BVD in the system, and how ear notch testing helps identify PIs

Leukosis virus: often silent but linked to lymphoma risk and reduced longevity—especially important for high-value animals and recipients

This conversation is a reminder that diagnostics are often “cheap insurance” compared to the cost of losing cows, replacements, or performance—especially as animal movement increases and disease pressure shifts across regions.

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We’ll see you down the road.