Vaccination against bovine viral diarrhea: Present status and perspectives

Bovine viral diarrhea/mucosal disease (BVD/MD) is one of the most important viral diseases in cattle. In Europe control of BVD/MD is mainly based on diagnosis of BVDV infections and elimination of persistently infected animals. In Germany and other countries eradication programs to combat BVD/MD are accompanied by vaccination. This article reviews advantages and disadvantages of BVDV vaccines currently used in Germany. Moreover, novel approaches for the development of efficacious and safe vaccines as well as marker vaccines against BVD/MD are discussed which include generation of live attenuated BVD viruses by classical reverse genetics and by a recently developed RNA recombination system.