Beef Cattle Biosecurity
Learn how to protect your herd
About our Project
This work was supported with Farm Bill funding through the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) Veterinary Services (VS)’ National Animal Disease Preparedness and Response Program (NADPRP).
The project objectives are:
- To investigate the understanding, awareness, cost-effectiveness, and practicality of adopting biosecurity measures by beef cattle producers and veterinarians in Illinois
- To identify biosecurity knowledge and communication gaps among Illinois beef cattle producers and their veterinarians, and evaluate biosecurity practices on cow-calf and backgrounder operations and feed yards.
- To develop and implement focused online education and training courses for beef cattle producers and veterinarians that enhance their awareness of biosecurity, animal health management, and vaccination benefits as well as how to integrate these elements into an effective biosecurity plan.
Meet Our Team
Dr. Csaba Varga
DVM MSc PhD DACVPM
(Principal Investigator)
Assistant Professor of Infectious Disease Epidemiology
Department of Pathobiology,
College of Veterinary Medicine
University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
Website: VARGA LAB
Dr. Rima Shrestha
BVSc & AH, MSc, PhD
Postdoctoral Research Associate
VARGA LAB
Department of Pathobiology,
College of Veterinary Medicine
University of Illinois Urbana–Champaign
Dr. Hamidreza Sodagari
DVM, PhD
Postdoctoral Research Associate
VARGA LAB
Department of Pathobiology,
College of Veterinary Medicine
University of Illinois Urbana–Champaign
About Varga Lab
Dr. Varga’s laboratory aims to help animal health stakeholders to design effective disease prevention and control programs. His team investigates the occurrence of infectious diseases on livestock farms and evaluates disease prevention methods, such as biosecurity, farm, and health management practices that mitigate the impact of these infections. The second area of research evaluates the host-agent-environmental factors influencing antimicrobial use and antimicrobial resistance in animal populations.
