00:05So pestivirus is a common infection of cattle. You'll find it in all production systems in
00:11Australia, be that dairy, beef, feedlot, extensive beef production, northern beef herds, southern
00:19beef herds. So it's a common infection right across the Australian cattle industry.
00:26It is mainly spread by animals we refer to as persistently infected. They're carriers of the virus,
00:33they're born with the virus, they shoot it for their life.
00:37The disease is quite infectious when persistently infected animals have contact with
00:44other susceptible cattle. So nose to nose contact is the main way that the virus is spread and that
00:50is generally between a persistently infected animal and another susceptible cow.
00:58So pestivirus is an insidious disease. It's often only diagnosed in retrospect or its full
01:06impact is often only diagnosed in retrospect. The problem with pestivirus is that it is a disease
01:13that produces many different disease syndromes. You can see a reproductive syndrome, you can see
01:18an ill-thrift syndrome, you can see respiratory disease, you can see calf scours associated with
01:25the pestivirus. So a whole range of different problems can all be caused by this one virus.
01:34Pestivirus is a very manageable disease. We have an effective vaccine, we have a good understanding of
01:40the disease, we've got very good diagnostic tests to identify the disease. So it is a very manageable disease.
01:48The only registered vaccine for pestivirus in Australia is Pestigar. Producers should vaccinate
01:55their herds annually. Initially they will need to do two doses to begin the program but after that it's
02:02an annual booster dose.
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