Immunology of the normal bovine lung

Abstract

Bovine respiratory disease (BRD) continues to be a major cause of economic loss to both beef and dairy producers. Even 1 required treatment for pneumonia can have a significant economic impact, and may be the difference between profit and loss for that individual animal.⁴ Much time and energy is spent performing necropsies and submitting specimens for culture and sensitivity, and little time is spent examining animals in the same pen that either do not get sick or respond to the first treatment, often with the same stresses, exposures, and isolation of the same "resistant" bacteria. Perhaps the more important question is, what sets these animals apart from the poor and non-responders? An understanding of basic immunology of the bovine lung and the impacts on that system may provide some insight into future preventive measures or genetic selection to minimize the number and severity of respiratory cases.