The information below has been supplied by dairy marketers and other industry organizations. It has not been edited, verified or endorsed by Hoard’s Dairyman.

NovaVive Inc., an animal health immunobiology company, today announced that a paper has been published in the Australian Veterinary Journal. The paper, “The innate immune stimulant Amplimune® is safe to administer to young feedlot cattle”, summarizes a research study conducted by CSIRO, Australia’s national science agency.

The study aimed to evaluate the safety of Amplimune (MWCF-based immune stimulant) in weaner Angus cattle. The cattle were assigned to one of six treatment groups (n = 10 per group): 2 ml Amplimune intramuscularly; 2 ml Amplimune subcutaneously; 5 ml Amplimune intramuscularly; 5 ml Amplimune subcutaneously; 5 ml saline intramuscularly; and 5 ml saline subcutaneously on day 0 following transportation. Body temperature, body weight, concentrations of circulating pro-inflammatory cytokines (TNFα, IL-1β, IL-6 and IL-12), and haematology parameters were measured at various times up to 96 hours post-treatment.

There were no adverse effects observed from Amplimune treatments. Amplimune induced an increase in circulating cytokine TNFα concentrations, total white blood cell count, and lymphocyte counts, indicative of activation of the innate immune system - without causing an excessive inflammatory response. The research team concluded that Amplimune can be safely administered to beef cattle at the dose rates and via the routes of administration investigated in this study.

The researchers noted that infectious disease has a significant impact on livestock production. Availability of alternatives to antibiotics to prevent and treat disease is required to reduce reliance on antibiotics while not impacting animal welfare.