Vaccination plays a significant role in preventing disease in human and animal health.
Farmers should be looking to develop a vaccination programme for their herds and if one is already in place, they should be reviewing it ahead of 2024.
Although vaccinations will not completely eliminate diseases on farms, they should reduce their affects and minimise recovery time for the animals.
Vaccination
Vaccines are an effective way of preventing the spread of diseases such as:
- Bovine Viral Diarrhoea (BVD);
- Leptospirosis;
- Clostridial diseases;
- Infectious Bovine Rhinotracheitis (IBR);
- Pneumonic Pasteurellosis;
- Scour, and more.
Many farms have a vaccination programme in place, but it is important to review this plan annually and make changes where required.
Changes are required due to new disease pressures and a number of other factors.
For example, if there was an issue with scour on your farm this year, a vaccination could aid in its control going forward.
Management practices will have the biggest impact on scour control; changes to management and vaccination could help reduce the number of cases.
Control
Vaccines work by stimulating an animal’s immune system without infecting them with the disease.
After this, if the vaccinated animal comes into contact with the disease, its immune system will recognise it (from the vaccine) and immediately produce the antibodies needed to fight it off.
It is important to note that a vaccination programme does not replace good management practices.
It is not, and should not be, the only method of disease control. A vaccination programme should be supported by additional on-farm measures, such as biosecurity and diagnostic testing.
Although the goal when vaccinating an animal is to stop them from getting sick, often that is not possible.
Animals can still become infected with a disease they have been vaccinated for, but it should have a reduced impact on them.