Animal Health Part 2: Vaccinations

The use of vaccinations is a useful tool in disease management on the farm. Most farms today will use a vaccine at some point in the life of the livestock they raise.

A vaccine is a suspension of attenuated or killed microorganisms administered for the prevention or treatment of an infectious disease. In other words, we artificially cause the animals body to be exposed to substance (vaccine) that causes a reaction to a specific disease. The animals’ response to a vaccination will vary depending on many factors. Some of these factors are:

1. age

2. general health

3. nutrition

4. quality control during manufacture

5. technique of administration, route and dose

6. handling of product/storage

7. individual variation between animals

Vaccines are produced in many different forms.

1. Bacterins

2. Toxoids

3. Live Virus or Bacteria

4. Modified Live Virus

5. Inactivated Virus

6. Antitoxins

For any vaccine to work properly it must be administered correctly. I have also seen vaccinations administered with little regard to following proper techniques. Considering the cost and effort associated with vaccinations (or vaccination failure) it only makes sense to ensure you are administering the product correctly.

1. All vaccines should be stored as per the directions on the label. In most cases, this means storage in a refrigerator.

2. Some vaccines come in two containers (one dry powder and one liquid). These must be mixed together before use. However, one mistake people will make is mixing the two together ahead of time. They should only be mixed just before administering and never stored this way.

3. All vaccines will have an expiry date on the label and/or box they came in. Always check that the vaccine has not expired before use.

4. Only take out of cold storage the amount of vaccine you will use within a short period. If you are vaccinating a large number of animals, the use of a cooler may be necessary to store the vaccine between animals.

5. Never use a non-sterile needle in a vaccine vial or save parts of used vials.

6. Never use chemical disinfectants (i.e. alcohol) on needles and syringes used for vaccinations. The needles and syringes should instead be boiled in distilled water for about 20 minutes to sterilize.

7. Replace dirty needles/syringes with clean sterile ones whenever they become dirty. It is better to use too many needles/syringes during vaccination (ideally a new one per animal) than risk contamination.

8. Always follow the labels directions with regard to dosage and administration route. The most common routes are intramuscular (in the muscle), subcutaneous (under the skin) and intranasal (in the nose)

9. Vaccine response will take some time from a few hours or days in the case of some intranasal vaccines to 10 days for other administration routes.

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