Characterization of cell mediated immune responses in stressed and unstressed beef calves

Abstract

Bovine respiratory disease (BRD) is the most common cause of morbidity and mortality in North American beef cattle. One part of the cattle industry that is particularly affected by BRD is the stocker cattle segment. It is common for stocker calves to be vaccinated against the most common disease causing agents at arrival to stocker facilities. Unfortunately, stocker calves experience numerous stressors that could impact the efficacy of vaccination and it has been established that stress can suppress immune function in cattle. The objectives of this study were to characterize the cell-mediate immune responses multiple source, highly commingled calves of unknown health history and compare the responses of these calves to those of calves that were single source, of a known health history, and weaned for 60 days.