Failure of Passive Immune Transfer in Neonatal Beef Calves: A Scoping Review

Neonatal calves possess an immature and naïve immune system and are reliant on the intake of maternal colostrum for the passive transfer of immunoglobulins. Maternal antibodies delivered to the calf via colostrum, are crucial to prevent calfhood diseases and death. Failure of transfer of passive immunity (FTPI) is a condition in which calves do not acquire enough maternal antibodies, mostly in the form of IgG, due to inadequate colostrum quality or delayed colostrum feeding. The diagnosis and risk factors for FTPI have been widely studied in dairy cattle; however, in beef calves, the research interest in the topic is relatively recent, and the most adequate diagnostic and preventative methods are still in development, making it difficult to define recommendations for the assessment and prevention of FTPI in cow–calf operations. The objective of this scoping review is to identify the published literature on best practices for colostrum management and transfer of passive immunity (TPI) in neonatal beef calves. The literature was searched using three electronic databases (CAB Direct, Scopus, and PubMed) for publications from 2003 to 2025. The search process was performed during the period from May to July 2023, and was repeated in January 2025. All screening processes were performed using Covidence systematic review software (Veritas Health Innovation, Melbourne, Australia). A total of 800 studies were initially identified through database searches. After removing duplicates, 346 studies were screened based on their titles and abstracts, leading to the exclusion of 260 studies. The remaining 86 studies underwent full-text screening, and 58 studies were considered eligible for data extraction. Hand-searching the references from published review papers on the subject yielded an additional five studies, bringing the total to 63 included articles. The prevalence of FTPI has been estimated to be between 5.8% and 34.5% in beef calves. Factors studied related to colostrum management include quality and quantity of colostrum intake, the timing and method of colostrum feeding, and the microbial content of the colostrum. Studies on risk factors related to the calf include the topics calf sex, twin status, calf vigor, weight, month of birth, cortisol and epinephrine concentrations, and the administration of nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs to calves after difficult calving. The dam-related risk factors studied include dam body condition score and udder conformation, breed, parity, genetics, prepartum vaccinations and nutrition, calving area and difficulty, and the administration of nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs at C-section. Most importantly for beef systems, calves with low vigor and a weak suckling reflex are at high risk for FTPI; therefore, these calves should be given extra attention to ensure an adequate consumption of colostrum. While serum IgG levels of < 8 g/L or < 10 g/L have been suggested as cutoffs for the diagnosis of FTPI, 16 g/L and 24 g/L have emerged as cutoffs for adequate and optimal serum IgG levels in beef calves. Several field-ready diagnostics have been compared in various studies to the reference standards for measuring indicators of TPI in beef calves, where results often differ between models or manufacturers. Therefore, care must be taken when interpreting these results.