New QAAFI lab seeks $4M to target pestivirus in Queensland

University of Queensland Associate Professor in Animal Biotechnology Sheila Ommeh who had previously undertaken research at the ILRI in Kenya, will make pestivirus (also known as Bovine Viral Diarrhoea Virus) her focus at the Biotech Nexus Lab at the Queensland Alliance for Agriculture and Food Innovation.

But while the lab is already up and running, Dr Ommeh said they still need to secure at least $4 million in funding for the molecular research involved.

"I am looking to have discussions with potential stakeholders and supporters about funding," Dr Ommeh said.

"We would like to start the research with $4 million because some of the molecular assays are costly and we want to cover the whole of Queensland with the latest data.

"My colleague Professor Timothy Mahony did some studies on BVDV around 2016 and we need to update data."

Dr Ommeh said the lab's goal is to establish a method using a sample of tissue, blood, or other body fluid to check for certain genes, proteins, or other molecules indicating the presence of BVDV.

"In five years I want to have a very clear molecular assay for pestivirus in cattle in Queensland and beyond," she said.

"Something simple that doesn't compromise on specifics or sensitivity.

"And that should be leading to other diagnostic assays in other livestock as well as the development of vaccines, it's all connected."

Dr Ommeh said the research will investigate how connected infections may be preventing the eradication of BVDV.

"I want to find out why pestivirus is endemic and why it is not being eradicated," she said.

"I also want to complement the research already underway at QAAFI and to collaborate with the world class researchers here as a colleague rather than a competitor."

Dr Ommeh said she will consider the connections pestivirus may have with other diseases.

"Nexus is a very important word because it means connections, and I thought starting my research in Australia, it would be good to look at connections," Dr Ommeh said.

"My previous research with the ILRI on Newcastle disease in poultry for example, has shown that eradicating the virus will not be the panacea, as it won't be the only infection present.

"Pestivirus is highly contagious and can cause diarrhoea, early term abortion, loss of condition, reduced reproductive performance and respiratory disease in cattle.

"I want to see what the most common co-infections in cattle are, because pestivirus often goes unnoticed (as) it often occurs as a co-infection with Bovine Respiratory disease."

Dr Ommeh said her goals for the new laboratory and the team she plans to create, will commence with the recruitment of a post-doc researcher in the next month.

Warwick Veterinary Clinic director and member of Australian Cattle Vets Dr Chris Reardon said he was pleased to hear about more research as BVDV was "ubiquitous in the cattle world."

"When we get involved in general husbandry advice BVDV is part of the conversation for best practice and productivity of the herd," he said.

"Other times it comes up is when we are investigating diseases or problems like abortions, fetal losses and sometimes we hear from producers regarding young animals not developing properly or calves not born normally, so there's always a need to have pestivirus in the conversation."

Dr Reardon said rigour around testing needed to be maintained, despicably for producers of bulls or seedstock.

"Feedlot operators take this disease very seriously as they want to maximise yield," he said.

"And dairy farmers listen very clearly to the BVDV advice as it can affect milk production."

Cattle Producers Australia president Ernie Camp who runs around 8500 Brahman cross cattle at Floraville Station, a 94,000 hectare property in the Gulf. said he was delighted to hear about new research into BVDV,

"This is great news, it's a step in the right direction," he said.

"We need more investment in fully-equipped and financed labs.

"The world is crying out for good, safe protein such as Australian beef cattle and we need to be able to prove our cattle is free of disease."

An Australian Veterinary Association spokesperson said the Australian Cattle Veterinarians had recently developed the Immune Ready Guidelines which utilise the Cattle Health Declaration to communicate the animal health status of their cattle at time of sale.

"Adoption of the guidelines will greatly assist producers in reducing the impact of BVDV in their herds," the spokesperson said.

"Cattle exposed to BVDV in a feedlot environment were found to be 70 per cent more likely to develop respiratory disease."

The spokesperson said there had been a number of disease surveys conducted in the Australian and Queensland cattle herds over the past 45 years.

"(These) have consistently shown that around 90 pc of herds have evidence of past exposure to BVDV," the spokesperson said.

"It is estimated that 60 to 70 pc of herds may have active infection with BVDV at any one point in time, but without active management, the infection often comes and goes from herds over time.

"There are a range of very good tests for BVDV and an effective vaccine so the disease is very manageable."

Know more about this issue? Contact Alison Paterson on 0437 861 082.