Bovine adenovirus

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Bovine adenovirus (BAdV) is a virus in the Adenoviridae family that infects cattle. There are 10 known serotypes, and the virus is found worldwide, with higher reporting in Africa and Central America. It mainly causes disease of the gut or lungs, but some serotypes can affect the eyes or contribute to enzootic pneumonia. The virus can also be present in healthy cattle without causing illness.

How it spreads and lasts
- Infected cattle shed the virus for about 10 days in nasal secretions or feces. Some animals may carry and shed it for longer.
- Young calves are more likely to show disease as maternal antibodies decline.

Signs to look for
- Gastrointestinal: diarrhoea, reduced appetite, abdominal swelling
- Respiratory: coughing, runny nose, rapid or difficult breathing
- General: fever, weight loss, depression, swollen lymph nodes, lethargy
- Sudden death has been reported in some cases
- A secondary infection can make signs worse

How it’s diagnosed
- Simply finding the virus isn’t enough for a diagnosis, since healthy cattle can carry it.
- A fourfold rise in antibody levels over the course of illness supports infection.
- Virus isolation is needed to identify the specific serotype.
- Postmortem exams may show lesions in the gut or lungs and enlarged lymph nodes.

Treatment and management
- Treatments are mainly supportive care.
- Antibiotics may be used to prevent or treat secondary infections.

Prevention and control
- Ensure calves receive adequate colostrum at birth.
- Manage herd groups by age, provide good ventilation and clean bedding.
- Vaccination of young cattle can reduce disease severity and how often it occurs, but vaccines are not available everywhere and usually require multiple doses and may be given with other vaccines.