Variations in test-day bulk milk somatic cell count (BMSCC) according to bovine viral diarrhoea virus (BVDV) infection status of the herd were quantified. Infection statuses were defined, based on bulk-milk antibodies measured twice 4 months apart. On each test-day, BMSCC was calculated as the weighted mean of the individual cow-level somatic cell counts. A total of 97,985 test-days in 7252 herds were considered. The effect of the BVDV-infection on BMSCC was assessed using mixed linear models, controlling for herd (random), proportion of primiparous cows and average days in milk on test-day. Considering test-days contemporary to the BVDV-status definition-period, the increase in BMSCC was 12,000 (P < 0.001), 27,000 (P < 0.001) and 6000 (P = 0.97) cells/ml in past-infected recently recovered, past-but-still-infected and recently infected herds respectively, compared with not recently infected herds. A carry-over effect (at least 1 year) of BVDV-infection on BMSCC was also evidenced in past-infected recently recovered, past-but-still-infected and recently infected herds.