Do you know, that one vaccination of a primary vaccination course against clostridial diseases provides little or no immunity to cattle and/or sheep, unless the booster shot is given?

This is often a mis-conception at farm level and results in a herd, flock or group of animals being extremely exposed to clostridial diseases and potentially sudden death.

Figure 1 below illustrates the increasing level of protection against clostridial diseases when an animal receives their first and second shot (four-to-six weeks apart) of Tribovax 10 as part of their primary vaccination course.

Consult your local vet for a farm specific clostridial vaccination protocol.

Figure 1. The level of protection against clostridial disease after the primary and booster vaccination with Tribovax 10

How to use Tribovax 10

In cattle:

  • The primary vaccination course involves two vaccinations four-to-six weeks apart (Fig. 1);
  • Dosage: 2ml dose under the skin from two weeks-of-age for naive calves, or approximately 10 weeks-of-age for calves whose dams were vaccinated prior to calving. Two-week-old animals can be safely vaccinated regardless of the vaccination status of the dam. A second 2ml dose follows four-to-six weeks after the first dose;
  • After the primary course, adult cattle and heifers should receive their booster at six-to-12 month intervals.

In sheep:

  • The primary vaccination course involves two vaccinations four-to-six weeks apart (Fig. 1);
  • Dosage: 1ml under the skin from two weeks-of-age;
  • After the primary course, animals should receive their booster at six-to-12 month intervals.

In unprotected herds, the risk of disease due to clostridial pathogens is present all year round. Clostridial infections in cattle and sheep are caused by a group of bacteria that exist in soil, on fields, within buildings and in the tissue and intestines of cattle.

Cattle are often exposed to bare soils for example, recent fencing jobs, shed work, tight grazing or even poor grass growth as experienced last summer.

In addition, animals are susceptible to clostridial disease during key management practices such as tagging, de-horning and castration.

Clostridial bacteria remain dormant and effectively harmless in the form of highly resistant spores that can survive for many years in the environment. The warm, damp soil of Ireland predisposes to high levels of disease and farmers are encouraged to vaccinate effectively to control this constant threat.

There was a time when clostridial disease control simply meant vaccinating cattle and sheep against blackleg prior to turnout. However, this approach is no longer adequate due to the increasing prevalence of other clostridial diseases.

Tribovax 10 is a ten-in-one vaccine that protects cattle and sheep against clostridial pathogens commonly known as: enterotoxaemia; lamb dysentery; struck; pulpy kidney; black disease; braxy; tetanus; haemorrhagic enteritis; redwater; and blackleg.

As the most common presenting sign of these diseases is sudden, often sporadic death, confirmation of the exact cause of death can be difficult as the presenting signs are similar to deaths from, for example, bloat, lightning strike or grass tetany.

A full post-mortem examination may reveal the specific clostridial bacteria responsible for causing death so that an appropriate vaccination programme can be instigated.

In the absence of such information, vaccination using a multivalent clostridial vaccine that protects against the greatest number of clostridial diseases would make the most common sense.

Each year clostridial diseases are a significant cause of mortality in Irish cattle. As reported in the DAFM Laboratories Quarterly Surveillance Reports 2018, death due to clostridial disease is one of the main causes of mortality in cattle.

Blackleg is the most frequently diagnosed clostridial disease and the months of highest risk are August, September and October (DAFM, 2017). Additionally, cases were most commonly recorded in younger cattle with 90% of cases recorded in animals less than 12 months-of-age.

The incidence of clostridial disease is reduced by vaccination; however, despite the severity of clostridial diseases, the majority of cases presented to the regional veterinary laboratories have either not been vaccinated, were not vaccinated correctly or vaccinated without the required strains.

Diagnosis

Clinical signs, including sudden death, gross and microscopic findings on post-mortem examination, gram stain of direct smears, and culture are used for diagnosis.

It is important not to diagnose clostridial disease based on suspicion of gross lesions or rapid decomposition. When sudden death occurs, the sample should be sent to a regional veterinary laboratory for diagnosis.

Treatment

Treatment with penicillin or other broad-spectrum antibiotic may prevent bacterial multiplication but will have no effect on toxins already produced.

Therefore, antibiotics will not be effective unless given early in disease. Wound exploration / curettage may also improve likelihood of recovery.

Vaccination

Remove the guesswork in trying to identify which clostridium is causing fatal disease by ensuring that cattle are protected with ten-in-one vaccines.

A dam that is vaccinated against clostridial disease can provide passive immunity to offspring for a short period of time i.e. up to 12 weeks passive immunity in both calves and lambs.

To ensure optimal response in young animals that have consumed adequate amounts of colostrum from vaccinated dams, the primary vaccination should be delayed until the level of protection wanes, which is about eight-to-12 weeks-of-age.

Tribovax 10 is a low dose clostridial vaccine offering cattle and sheep producers the broad protection against clostridial bacteria.

It will protect cattle and sheep against 10 key clostridial pathogens: C. perfringens type A; C. perfringens type B; C. perfringens type C; C. perfringens type D; C. novyi; C. septicum; C. tetani; C. sordellii; C. haemolyticum; and C. chauvoei.

These are more commonly known as enterotoxaemia, lamb dysentery, struck, pulpy kidney, black disease, braxy, tetanus, haemorrhagic enteritis, redwater and blackleg, respectively.

Economic impact

A single death, depending on the age of the animal, can have a significant effect on farm productivity.

Clostridial vaccines are relatively inexpensive and if farmers are going to vaccinate for blackleg, the selection of a vaccine giving the broadest protection makes most economical sense.

The death of one animal would on average cover the cost of 500 doses of ten-in-one clostridial vaccine and this does not even include the cost or issues associated with disposal.