BVD Virus RT-PCR
BVD Virus RT-PCR is a test that looks for the genetic material (RNA) of bovine viral diarrhoea virus in serum, blood or an ear notch from cows and buffaloes. It can find animals with a current infection and persistently infected (PI) animals that spread the virus.
- Sample
- Serum, EDTA blood or ear notch
- Quantity
- As advised
- Report
- Confirmed when you book
- Collection
- Free in Bhopal
What this test checks
- BVD virus RNA - the genetic material of bovine viral diarrhoea virus
- Persistently infected (PI) animals, which carry and spread the virus for life
- Short-term (transient) infection in animals that caught the virus recently
- Virus in serum, EDTA blood or an ear notch, a small piece of skin from the ear
Benefits of this test
- Looks for the virus itself, so it can find PI animals that antibody tests miss.
- Works on serum, EDTA blood or an ear notch.
- Helps your vet look into abortions, poor fertility and weak calves in a herd.
- Supports herd checks before buying animals or before breeding, if your vet advises it.
- Can be repeated to tell a short-term infection from a persistent one.
When your vet may advise it
- Abortions, poor fertility or weak and deformed calves in a herd.
- Calves that keep getting diarrhoea or pneumonia, or grow poorly.
- Checking newly bought cattle or buffaloes before they join the herd.
- Screening young calves for persistent infection, often with an ear notch.
- Repeating a test to see whether a positive animal has cleared the virus.
About this test
Bovine viral diarrhoea (BVD) is a virus infection of cattle that can also affect buffaloes. Its signs vary a lot. Some animals have fever, diarrhoea or mouth sores, while herds may notice poor fertility, abortions, weak or deformed calves, and more pneumonia and scours (calf diarrhoea), because the virus weakens the immune system. Many infections cause no clear signs at all. BVD is not known to infect people.
When a cow is infected early in pregnancy, the calf can be born persistently infected (PI). A PI animal carries the virus for life, often looks normal, and keeps spreading large amounts of virus to the herd. It does not make antibodies against the virus, so antibody tests can miss it. RT-PCR, a type of PCR (polymerase chain reaction) used for viruses whose genetic material is RNA, looks for the virus itself and can find both PI animals and animals with a short-term infection. An ear notch, a small piece of skin from the ear, is often used to check calves.
One positive result cannot tell a short-term infection from a persistent one, so your vet may retest the animal after a gap. A registered veterinarian reads the result with the animal's age, signs and herd history, and may combine it with BVD antigen or antibody tests. In Bhopal, sample collection is free, and from other districts your vet can send samples by courier or bus parcel after calling the lab.
How to prepare
Your vet takes blood into a plain tube for serum or into an EDTA tube, or a small ear-notch skin sample, and it helps to share the animal's age and the herd's breeding history. The lab confirms the method, sample needs and reporting time when you book.
Reading the result
A registered veterinarian reads the result with the animal's age, signs and herd history. A positive result shows BVD virus RNA was found, but one positive test cannot tell a short-term infection from a persistent one, so your vet may retest after a gap. A negative result does not always rule infection out, for example very early in an infection.
Questions about BVD Virus RT-PCR
What is a BVD persistently infected (PI) animal?
Why does a BVD positive animal need a second test?
Can the BVD test be done on an ear notch sample?
What are the signs of BVD in cattle?
Before you book this test
Why this notice: so you know, before you book, how a test is done, what its limits are and who is responsible.
- Where it is tested. Some tests are done wholly or partly by an independent partner laboratory. The lab tells you before booking if this test is sent out, and the report names the laboratory that did it.
- What a result can and cannot tell you. No test is right every time. A normal result does not rule out every disease, and an abnormal result does not prove one. A registered veterinarian should read the report with the animal’s signs and history before any treatment is started, changed or stopped.
- The sample. A sample that is clotted, too small, wrongly labelled, leaking or too old may be rejected or reported with a note, and the lab may ask for a fresh one.
- Reporting time. Confirmed when you book. Times are estimates, not guarantees, and the lab confirms the time when you book.
- Emergencies. A booking or a pending report must not delay urgent care. If an animal has collapsed, struggles to breathe, has fits or bleeds heavily, call a veterinarian at once.
Please read our Terms of Service, Medical Disclaimer, Privacy Policy and Refund and Cancellation Policy. Pashupatinath Vet Lab is operated by Duaji Healthcare and Tech Private Limited. This page is general information and does not replace a veterinarian’s advice.
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BVD Virus RT-PCR: Bhopal and the big cities of Madhya Pradesh
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