A Louisiana State University researcher developed a new vaccine against bovine respiratory disease (BRD) and related illnesses that kill around 8 million calves each year and cost the cattle industry more than $1 billion.

Most cattle producers now use a commercially available modified live BRD vaccine containing several live viruses to protect their herds. Still, the diseases kill more than one out of every five calves.

Dr. Shafiqul Chowdhury, a professor of veterinary medicine at Louisana State University, says the new vaccine is safer for calves and far more effective than the the vaccine cocktail.

The benefits include:

1. It’s cost-effective. It uses one virus, genetically engineered BHV-1, which grows well in cell culture.
2. It does not cause terminated pregnancies, a potential outcome among cows that reach adulthood after being given the commercial vaccine mixture.

Read more on the New BRD Vaccine here.