When is the last time you updated your vaccination program?
Vaccinations are a great weapon against common ailments faced by dairy animals from pneumonia to mastitis, and they can be effectively used on dairies of all sizes and types. Many operations follow a vaccine program, but care must be taken to keep it updated and tailored to the operation.
According to Ryan Breuer, D.V.M., Iowa State Extension and Outreach, a veterinarian-client-patient relationship is an important part of any plan. A farm's veterinarian should be familiar with contagious diseases that are a concern on the operation and can offer suggestions related to which vaccines are best designed to assist with the disease-causing pathogens.
In order to be effective, protocols must not only be up to date, but animals must also be in proper physical condition to benefit from a vaccination. Breuer says producers should keep in mind four important vaccination factors for success, including the animal's plane of nutrition, other management interventions occurring simultaneously to vaccination, pregnancy status and stress level. Animals that are nutritionally satisfied and not stressed will more often develop a strong immune response to vaccination and, if pregnant, are more likely to pass on immunity to offspring.
A regular review of vaccine protocols gives producers the opportunity to evaluate pathogens of concern in the herd and mitigate them before they cause an outbreak.
(c) Hoard's Dairyman Intel 2016
February 8, 2016
