Duration: 10/01/2026 to 09/30/2031

Administrative Advisor(s):

NIFA Reps:

Non-Technical Summary

Statement of Issues and Justification

Bovine respiratory disease (BRD) continues to be the most significant cause of morbidity, mortality, and economic loss in the U.S. cattle industry [1-3]. Affecting both beef and dairy cattle across all production stages, BRD results in substantial animal welfare concerns and inefficiencies throughout production cycles [1,2]. Stakeholders across the beef, dairy, and allied industries, which includes veterinarians, producers, consultants, and industry partners, continue to identify BRD as a top research and extension priority due to its complex etiology, persistent economic burden, and the continued absence of effective, long-term control strategies [3].

Despite decades of research, BRD remains the leading cause of feedlot morbidity, preweaning calf mortality, and antimicrobial use in cattle [3,4]. Recent industry data also point to emerging challenges associated with respiratory health in evolving production systems, such as beef-on-dairy crossbred calves, which may exhibit unique disease susceptibilities and performance outcomes [3,5]. These production shifts, coupled with changes in management and marketing tactics, highlight the urgent need for renewed collaborative investigation that spans the full range of cattle production systems, from cow-calf and calf ranch operations to stocker, feedlot, and lactating dairy systems.

While the exact amount remains unknown, the annual economic impact of BRD likely exceeds hundreds of millions of dollars (USD) per year in the United States when accounting for mortality, treatment costs, and performance losses [6-8]. However, this figure underestimates the full burden of the disease, as current economic data are outdated, inconsistent, or incomplete across production sectors. Moreover, mortality loss has never been more expensive, yet comprehensive, system-specific economic assessments are scarce. Stakeholders have emphasized the critical need for new economic surveys and data-driven modeling to accurately quantify both direct and indirect impacts of BRD and related cardiopulmonary conditions. These assessments would support producers, consultants, and policymakers in implementing evidence-based, cost-effective strategies that improve animal health and resource efficiency.

Beyond direct financial losses, BRD represents a major constraint to sustainable beef and dairy production, influencing animal welfare, environmental sustainability, and consumer perception of industry practices. Failure to advance our understanding of BRD pathogenesis, epidemiology, and control strategies perpetuate systematic reliance on antimicrobials, increase production inefficiencies, and heighten production system vulnerabilities to emerging or underreported respiratory and cardiopulmonary syndromes. Without the proposed multidisciplinary efforts, the U.S. livestock industry will remain at risk from evolving disease dynamics that continue to influence respiratory disease outcomes.

While BRD remains the central focus, there is growing recognition that respiratory disease exists within a broader cardiopulmonary and systemic context. Emerging evidence links pulmonary disease to gastrointestinal health and systemic inflammation, suggesting that digestive tract integrity and microbial balance can significantly influence respiratory resilience [2,9,10]. Additionally, specific respiratory conditions such as bronchopneumonia, acute interstitial pneumonia, and mixed broncho-interstitial pneumonia contribute substantially to respiratory-related mortality and require refined diagnostic and pathologic characterization for improved prognostic, diagnostic, and therapeutic developments [11]. By broadening the project’s scope to include these cardiopulmonary and interconnected conditions, we would better address the multifactorial nature of respiratory health and expand our capacity to develop integrated diagnostic and management preventive solutions.

Improved surveillance and longitudinal data collection are critical for understanding the changing epidemiology of respiratory disease. There is limited information on disease prevalence and economic impact in the stocker, backgrounding, and beef-on-dairy sectors, in addition to an insufficient approach to standardization in diagnostic reporting across research laboratories. Enhanced surveillance, coupled with advanced data integration and modeling approaches, will facilitate earlier detection of emerging pathogens and quantify how production system attributes contribute to respiratory disease dynamics. This will allow improved identification of critical leverage points where targeted interventions, such as improved vaccination strategies, management changes, or genetic selection, may yield the most significant impact on respiratory disease control and resource efficiency.

The proposed research is built upon the proven capacity and expertise of NC1192 member stations, which collectively possess the infrastructure, datasets, and interdisciplinary expertise required to address BRD and related diseases (e.g., congestive heart failure, endocarditis, liver abscessation, etc.) from molecular to systems-based levels. Advances in genomics, metagenomics, transcriptomics, and systems biology now enable integrated exploration of the host–pathogen–environment relationship and multivariable risk factors that confer respiratory disease resistance or tolerance. Ongoing efforts have identified gene expression markers linked to BRD resistance, characterized virulence mechanisms of key pathogens, and developed improved diagnostic and vaccination tools [12-15]. Moreover, the multistate structure of NC1192 offers unique advantages as it brings together complementary expertise in epidemiology, microbiology, immunology, economics, nutrition, genetics, and animal husbandry while representing the multitude of production environments across the U.S. Coordinated collaboration allows standardized protocols, larger sample sizes, and broader applicability of research findings. Shared access to diagnostic tools, pathogen isolates, and multi-institutional datasets would accelerate discovery, validation, and translation into field-relevant outcomes. Furthermore, active partnerships with national organizations such as the American Association of Bovine Practitioners (AABP), the Academy of Veterinary Consultants (AVC), and industry collaborators ensure that emerging knowledge rapidly reaches stakeholders who can apply it in practice.

Completion of the proposed work will yield measurable scientific, economic, and societal benefits, including:

• Enhanced understanding of respiratory and associated disease etiologies;
• Improved diagnostic, surveillance, and control strategies against respiratory disease;
• Quantified economic impact and system-based solutions for respiratory disease;
• Expanded knowledge transfer and capacity building.

 

References

• White BJ, Larson BL. Impact of bovine respiratory disease in U.S. beef cattle. Anim Health Res Rev 2020;21:132–4. https://doi.org/10.1017/S1466252320000079.
• Chai J, Capik SF, Kegley B, Richeson JT, Powell JG, Zhao J. Bovine respiratory microbiota of feedlot cattle and its association with disease. Vet Res 2022;53:4. https://doi.org/10.1186/s13567-021-01020-x.
• Smith RA, Step DL, Woolums AR. Bovine respiratory disease. Veterinary Clinics of North America: Food Animal Practice 2020;36:239–51. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cvfa.2020.03.009.
• Howe S, Kegley B, Powell J, Chen S, Zhao J. Effect of bovine respiratory disease on the respiratory microbiome: a meta-analysis. Front Cell Infect Microbiol 2023;13:1223090. https://doi.org/10.3389/fcimb.2023.1223090.
• Fernandes ILB, Welk A, Renaud DL, Sockett D, Felix TL, Cantor MC. The association of lung consolidation and respiratory pathogens identified at weaning on the growth performance of beef-on-dairy calves. Journal of Dairy Science 2025;108:3980–90. https://doi.org/10.3168/jds.2024-25617.
• Wang M, Schneider LG, Hubbard KJ, Grotelueschen DM, Daly RF, Stokka GS, et al. Beef producer survey of the cost to prevent and treat bovine respiratory disease in preweaned calves. Javma 2018;253:617–23. https://doi.org/10.2460/javma.253.5.617.
• Johnson KK, Pendell DL. Market impacts of reducing the prevalence of bovine respiratory disease in united states beef cattle feedlots. Front Vet Sci 2017;4:189. https://doi.org/10.3389/fvets.2017.00189.
• Wang M, Schneider LG, Hubbard KJ, Smith DR. Cost of bovine respiratory disease in preweaned calves on US beef cow–calf operations (2011–2015). Javma 2018;253:624–31. https://doi.org/10.2460/javma.253.5.624.
• Soranno DE, Coopersmith CM, Brinkworth JF, Factora FNF, Muntean JH, Mythen MG, et al. A review of gut failure as a cause and consequence of critical illness. Crit Care 2025;29:91. https://doi.org/10.1186/s13054-025-05309-7.
• Oami T, Shimazui T, Yumoto T, Otani S, Hayashi Y, Coopersmith CM. Gut integrity in intensive care: alterations in host permeability and the microbiome as potential therapeutic targets. J Intensive Care 2025;13:16. https://doi.org/10.1186/s40560-025-00786-y.
• Schmidt PH, White BJ, Finley A, Bortoluzzi EM, Depenbusch BE, Mancke M, et al. Determining frequency of common pulmonary gross and histopathological findings in feedyard fatalities. Veterinary Sciences 2023;10:228. https://doi.org/10.3390/vetsci10030228.
• Scott MA, Valeris-Chacin R, Thompson AC, Woolums AR, Karisch BB. Comprehensive time-course gene expression evaluation of high-risk beef cattle to establish immunological characteristics associated with undifferentiated bovine respiratory disease. Front Immunol 2024;15:1412766. https://doi.org/10.3389/fimmu.2024.1412766.
• Gaudino M, Nagamine B, Ducatez MF, Meyer G. Understanding the mechanisms of viral and bacterial coinfections in bovine respiratory disease: a comprehensive literature review of experimental evidence. Vet Res 2022;53:70. https://doi.org/10.1186/s13567-022-01086-1.
• Hayes BJ, Duff CJ, Hine BC, Mahony TJ. Genomic estimated breeding values for bovine respiratory disease resistance in Angus feedlot cattle. Journal of Animal Science 2024;102:skae113. https://doi.org/10.1093/jas/skae113.
• Ng TFF, Kondov NO, Deng X, Van Eenennaam A, Neibergs HL, Delwart E. A metagenomics and case-control study to identify viruses associated with bovine respiratory disease. J Virol 2015;89:5340–9. https://doi.org/10.1128/JVI.00064-15.

Related, Current and Previous Work

Objectives

1. Elucidate host-pathogen-environment interactions underlying respiratory disease and associated disorders in livestock
   
2. Develop and validate diagnostic and surveillance methodologies for respiratory disease in livestock
   
3. Develop and assess sustainable management, therapeutic, and preventative interventions for respiratory disease in livestock
   
4. Characterize and model system-level, economic, and societal drivers of respiratory disease in livestock production
   
5. Translate collaborations and knowledge of respiratory disease research into practical applications
   

Methods

Measurement of Progress and Results

Outputs

Outcomes or Projected Impacts

Milestones

Projected Participation

View Appendix E: Participation

Outreach Plan

Organization/Governance

Literature Cited

Attachments

Land Grant Participating States/Institutions

GA, KS, MS

Non Land Grant Participating States/Institutions