The detection and elimination of animals persistently infected with bovine viral diarrhoea virus (BVDV) is the key to BVD control. This method has proven to be very efficient in eradicating BVDV in a herd. Several pitfalls in the detection procedure can make that some persistently infected (PI) animals do not get identified or are removed too late, supporting the assumption that circulation of the virus could be possible in absence of PI animals. Furthermore the risk of reintroduction is high since the prevalence of BVD is high in the Netherlands and Belgium. Based on both practical experience and literature, here we review critical control points in order to minimise the risk of a false negative BVDV screening.