Vaccination is a key pillar in the preventative approach to health and welfare of pigs. The pig industry has removed zinc oxide from post-weaning diets and continues to reduce the amount of antibiotics used on farm.
Effective vaccination programmes against a range of common diseases has had a profound effect on herd welfare during this time.
“As pig farmers have increased the number of diseases that they vaccinate against, modern vaccines have adapted to this change.
“The ability to vaccinate against multiple diseases in a single administration delivers both convenience and compliance on busy pig units,” explained Aidan Byrne, MSD Animal Health.
“We know that disease challenges can be complex. For example, vets often refer to PRRS as the gateway disease because individual diseases rarely appear in isolation, making it a complex issue to resolve,” Aidan added.
Even on farms that are vaccinating sows and gilts, if there is a small break in biosecurity or if the PRRS virus is present anywhere on the farm, the rest of the herd is at risk.
Piglets that are not vaccinated are particularly susceptible to the disease and it can also circulate within second stage and fattener groups.
One of the characteristics of this viral infection is the devastating effect it has on the immune system.
As a result, it opens the door to viral diseases such as PCV2 and a range of bacterial diseases such as Strep. suis, Mycoplasma hyopneumoniae, APP and Glasser’s disease throughout the growing and finishing phases.
It is beneficial, therefore, to protect your pigs against as many as possible of the diseases they are at risk of.
“Increasingly, we’re seeing farmers vaccinating piglets against both PCV and Mycoplasma. But if the farm has a high challenge from PRRS, they’re looking to extend their vaccination regimes to include that additional vaccine,” Aidan said.
Many vaccines are given to piglets around the time of weaning or just before, as maternal antibodies wane and the disease challenge increases.
With some farms giving three or more vaccines around this time, consideration should be given to the timing and the number of interventions, or ‘lifts’.
Pigs
Reducing the number of interventions has a positive benefit for both the piglets and the farm workers at a time when labour is in short supply.
Porcilis PCV M Hyo is a ready-to-use combined vaccine against two of the most common diseases affecting growing pigs, PCV2 or ‘wasting’ and enzootic pneumonia caused by Mycoplasma.
This vaccine is mostly used as a single 2ml dose from three-weeks-of-age, but can also be given as a split dose from three days of age to provide protection in the event of poor maternal immunity and an early disease challenge for both diseases.
Porcilis PCV M Hyo has been established in Ireland for 10 years and is the most popular such combination vaccine.
“As well as ready-to-use combinations, increasingly products are licensed to allow other vaccines to be mixed at farm level or administered concurrently.
“It’s always best to use vaccines approved for use together, as they have been proven not to interact adversely and be well-tolerated by the piglets reducing the risk of any temporary effect on performance,” Aidan advised.
Porcilis PCV M Hyo is fully approved for mixing with Porcilis Lawsonia to give additional protection against ileitis and Porcilis PRRS can also be administered at the same time, but at a different site.
Multiple field studies have reported significant production improvements following combined vaccinations either as intramuscular injection or intradermally. Your vet will be able to prescribe the vaccines that are best for your farm.
“MSD Animal Health has provided market-leading combined vaccines for ruminants, poultry and pigs for over 40 years.
“As our understanding of disease pressure improves and new vaccines are launched, it seems that vaccine combinations will become increasingly common,” he explained.
