Vaccination Programs for Beef
Cow/Calf Operations
Dr. Michelle Arnold
Ruminant Extension Veterinarian
University of Kentucky
What diseases am I trying to prevent?
VACCINES
Scours
Pinkeye
Clostridials
Respiratory
Reproductive
Respiratory and Reproductive
Blackleg
7-way
Histophilus
Pasteurella
Mannheimia
Viral 4 or 5way
Lepto
5-way
Lepto Hardjo
Bovis
Trich
Vibrio
Trying to prevent the diseases that lead to Abortion
Disease
BVD
Brucellosis
Campylobacter
(Vibrio)
Chlamydia
IBR
Leptospirosis
Neospora
Sarcocystis
Trichomoniasis
Stage of Gestation
Control Method
Up to 6 months
FP vaccine, cull PI
6+ months
Heifer vaccination;
test / cull
Early embryonic death
Vaccinate, antibiotic
Last trimester
Separation, sanitation
Last half
Vaccinate
Any stage (usually 6+)
Vaccinate, antibiotic
4-6 months
Canine control
Last trimester
Canine feces out of
feed
Early embryonic death < 5
months
Cull infected bulls,
vaccinate
Aim is to prevent the most common diseases as well as
enhance colostrum
REQUIRED
VACCINES
Clostridials
Respiratory
Blackleg
7-way (<2 yrs)
Virals
4-way
(5-way)
Cows Need Annually
Reproductive
Lepto
5-way
HB=Lepto Hardjo-Bovis
Treat for internal and external parasites
Vibrio
Open cows and heifers need a 5 way respiratory vaccine with
vibrio (Campylobacter) and lepto 4-6 weeks prior to breeding
• Open Cows and Heifers – use modified live
FP=Fetal Protection
What is BVD?
One of the most important and most complicated
viral diseases in beef and dairy cattle worldwide
Two broad types of infection based on
transmission:
Transient Infection (TI)
Persistent Infection (PI)
PI development
Persistently Infected Carriers (PI’s)
1 – 4 months
gestation
Infection
93% of all PI’s
produced this
way
Calf
PI’s produce
PI’s 100% of
the time
BVD Virus
Courtesy of Dr. John Pickering
What does it do?
• Effects on fertility
Infection early in pregnancy
= failure to conceive
Early embryonic loss
Above - normal embryo
Below - a degenerate embryo from a cow
infected with BVD in early pregnancy.
Abortion
• Up to 180 days
Mummified Fetus
Developmental defects - hydrocephalus, cleft
palate,
cerebellar hypoplasia (120- 150days).
Developmental defects
90 to 150 days
Cataracts
Retinal
Degeneration
Optic Neuritis
Stillbirths
Live born
Dummy calves
180 days on
Normal calf- fetus is
immunocompetent
and able to mount
a specific immune
response
Summary of BVD Effects
No effect - calf born immune
Developmental
defects
Persistent
infection
Embryonic loss
or abortion
Failure to
conceive
-50
0
50
100
150
200
250
300
Persistent Infection
PI Carriers
• If fetus becomes a PI and survives
- will continuously shed millions of virus all its life from all its
secretions
- feces
- urine
- saliva
- nasal
- milk
- semen
- uterine secretions
- aborted membranes, fluids, fetus
- Across fences.
Virus survives in environment up to 7 days
• If it’s a female and later gets pregnant then its offspring
will be a PI and its offspring and so on and so on
“FP” means protection against persistent infection and
abortion due to BVD virus
Unfortunately the fact that a vaccine is
licensed and available doesn’t mean it
works
Ribble CS Assessing vaccine efficacy Can J Vet Med Vol 31 Oct 1990
Vaccines do not work in sick, stressed, thin, or heavily
parasitized cattle
Two Types of Viral Vaccines: Killed (Inactivated) and
Modified Live (Attenuated)
Safe for Pregnant:
MLV Respiratory
Stimulate cell mediated
and humoral immunity
quickly-longer, stronger
Booster recommended but
not always required. Do
not booster in less than 2
weeks
Open Cows Only:
Anamnestic (Memory) Response with killed vaccine
requires two doses- a primary and a booster
150
100
50
Antibody and T cell
response
0
Day 0 Day 14 Day 21 day 28
Booster given on day 21
Killed Viral Respiratory Vaccines
A “respiratory vaccine” contains antigens from 4 viruses
but the name often depends on the BVD fraction
RESPIRATORY "4 or 5 or 6 way"
Other Respiratory
Mannheimia
IBR
BVD
Type 1
NCP
36%
CP
25%
PI3
BRSV
Pasteurella (-)
Type 2
NCP
30%
*CP
9%
*Not in Vaccines
Type 1 and 2 are genotypes; CP and NCP
Are biotypes. Pis have noncytopathic BVD
Histophilus(-)
“HS” stands for Histophilus somni (formerly known as
Haemophilus somnus)
• Only used if required or if identified as a
problem on the farm.
While they are in the chute, I’ll give them
everything…but they will feel rough the next day
• More than two Gram (-) vaccines one time
or mishandle vaccine-Excess endotoxin
• Mannheimia and Pasteurella
• Brucellosis (Bangs)
• Moraxella (Pinkeye)
• Salmonella, E.coli
• Histophilus (Hemophilus)
• Vibrio (Campylobacter)
The bull needs vaccinating, deworming and a breeding
soundness exam before breeding season
• Approximately 20% of bulls have some degree of infertility
Pregnant cows and heifers need Scours Vaccine before
they calve.
• Heifers need primary dose and booster.
Annual vaccination required
Scour Guard 4KC
Scour Bos 9
Guardian
Scours Vaccines
Scour Bos 9
Initial: 5-7 mos;
Booster at 8 mos;
Annual: 6.5-7 mos
Scour Guard 4KC
Initial: 7 mos; booster at 8
Annual: 8 months
Guardian
Initial: 7 mos; booster at 8
Annual: 7.5-8 mos
Percent absorption in gut
Calf Colostrum Absorption is best in the first 6 hours of
life and steadily declines to zero in 24 hours
30%
Hours after birth
Talk to your veterinarian about your individual herd
health program.
• Based on exposure to risk
• Marketing choices
(Cows/calves/stockers/replacements)
• Compliance
• Expense
What if calve year round so cows are in all stages of
gestation and all different ages of calves in the pasture
• #1 Recommendation-Individually identify
cows and calves and record birth dates
• #2 Recommendation- Use killed vaccine and
give an initial dose followed by a booster 4
weeks later. Continue using killed vaccine
twice a year.
What about deworming? Use products effective against
adult and inhibited Ostertagia but be aware of Cooperia
Macrocyclic lactones-Long acting + External parasite control
Benzamidazoles
• White wormers
• Short acting-kill
adult worms in the
gut and dormant
(hypobiotic) larvae
• No residual activity
but excellent efficacy
against Cooperia
Results from 2007-2008 FECRT: Free Lab Support to Bovine Practitioners
4765 samples tested
Table 1. Efficacy of macrocyclic lactone injectable formulations from FECRTs* conducted by veterinary practitioners
and submitted to Intervet’s national database.
Number of
trials
Number of
samples
Pre-Rx
Post-Rx
Percent
efficacy (%)
Injections:
Ivomec® Inj.
Ivomec® Plus
Dectomax® Inj.
Cydectin Inj.
Ivermectin Inj.
6
6
11
2
1
162
257
362
64
40
55.5
120.4
43.6
246.1
33.0
13.2
69.1
4.4
4.7
16.5
76.2%
42.6%
89.9%
98.1%
50.0%
Inj. Summary:
26
884
79.2
21.8
72.5%
Product
Egg counts/3g**
*Fecal egg count reduction tests.
** All samples taken at treatment and again two weeks post-treatment.
Results after Pour-Ons: Failure to eliminate worm egg shedding due to lack of
Consistent and adequate absorption into the bloodstream.
Table 2. Efficacy of macrocyclic lactone pour-ons from FECRTs* conducted by veterinary practitioners and submitted to Intervet’s national database.
Number of
trials
Number of
samples
Pre-Rx
Post-Rx
Percent
efficacy (%)
Pour-ons:
Ivomec® PO
Ivermectin PO
Dectomax® PO
Cydectin® PO
8
35
8
9
366
1,437
318
365
45.8
53.6
89.2
45.1
12.7
21.6
18.8
14.8
72.3%
59.7%
78.9%
67.2%
Pour-On summary
60
2,486
56.0
19.0
66.1%
Product
Egg counts/3g**
* Fecal egg count reduction tests.
**All samples taken at treatment and again two weeks post-treatment.
If a macrocyclic lactone (especially ivermectin) is used for external parasite
control, it should be used with another dewormer to prevent production
losses and the further transfer of resistant parasites to other cattle
Table 4. Efficacy of Safe-Guard®/Panacur® in combination with various macrocyclic lactone formulations from
FECRTs* conducted by veterinary practitioners and submitted to Intervet’s national database.
Combination
product
Safe-Guard/Panacur Drench plus:
Ivomec® Inj.
Ivomec® Plus
Ivermectin PO
Dectomax® Inj.
Cydectin® Inj.
Summary
Number of
trials
Number of
samples
3
1
3
1
1
9
59
40
118
20
24
261
* Fecal egg count reduction tests.
**All samples taken at time of treatment and again two weeks post-treatment.
Egg counts/3g**
Pre-Rx
Post-Rx
88.2
30.7
30.8
389.4
583.0
152.1
0
0
0.1
0
0.2
0.1
Percent
efficacy (%)
100.0%
100.0%
99.9%
100.0%
99.9%
99.9%
LongRange
• New dewormer called LongRange
• Eprinomectin-similar drug to Eprinex
• Delivers 100-150 days of parasite control in
a single dose
• Prescription only
Pinkeye versus IBR
Current Pinkeye Facts
• Agent – Moraxella bovis, (M. bovoculi)
• Transmission – direct contact, face flies
• Treat – long acting antibiotics
– Long acting tetracycline such as Hexasol or
Noromycin 300(LA-200-seeing resistance)
– Benzathine Penicillin and Dexamethasone
subconjunctival-only with valid VCPR
– Excede (off-label)
– Draxxin
– Nuflor (off label)
Predisposing Factors
• Lack of pigmentation around the eye ?
– Ultraviolet light not absorbed by white hair
• Mechanical irritation/Physical trauma
– Pollen, seeds, feed dust, dust
– Stubble, thorn bushes can scratch cornea
• Chemical trauma
– Fresh nitrogen applied to pasture
• Flies
– Face flies feed on eye secretions
– Vector of spreading bacteria from animal to animal
Predisposing Factors
• Ultraviolet light-cell damage to the cornea is
initiated by UV burning. This is why the
greatest occurrence is in summer.
• Viral Infection-Viruses such as IBR can
damage the protective cells covering the eye
• Stress from shipping, processing, commingling can
be immunosuppressive
Pinkeye Prevention
• Prevent Corneal Damage from sun- need shade.
• Control FACE flies-ear tags, face “flyps”,Altosid. Clean
up areas where flies breed-spilled feed, old hay in rings.
• Clip pastures-mechanical injury from plant awns such
as foxtail
• Clean Water Source-critical to keep eye clean and
moist.
• Vaccinate
• Antibiotic in feed mix/ free choice mineral
– Chlortetracycline (Aureomycin®) is not labeled for pinkeye
control. However, it is legal to feed CTC to prevent
anaplasmosis.
Fly Control-UK ENT-11 Fact Sheet
Numerous
insecticides
and
equipment
availableMost
Permethrin
based
• Insecticide-impregnated tag
• Back rubs and wicks
• Dust bags
• Sprays
• Feed-throughs
• Pour-ons
• Avoidance of areas with heavy
fly infestations
Cylence or Python give good face and horn fly control
Questions?