Company
Vaccination timing and administration – essential to adhere to guidelines
17 June 2008
An article in last week’s Farmers Guardian (Farmer fury over lack of advice, Farmers Guardian June 6th, page 2) prompted Alasdair King, veterinary manager for Intervet/Schering Plough Animal Health to contact us on the subject of using vaccines and other animal medicines together.
“There are guidelines on the use of all animal medicines, and Bovilis® BTV8 is no different in that regard,” Mr King points out. “It is essential that producers read the insert that comes with any product – vaccine, wormer or flukicide – before it is administered. This will contain any relevant information on product compatibility, if it is available.”
There are very few products that are licensed to be used together, because of the massive workload involved in testing all the possible combinations. This means that most have advice not to be used at the same time, he goes on to explain.
“Where a company is aware that products have been administered together over a number of years, with no adverse effect, they may be able to say that it seems as if it is safe to use the products at the same time, but that is only based on anecdotal evidence,” Mr King says.
“However there may also be anecdotal or scientific reasons to think some combinations should not be used. For example, we know that flukicides have an effect on an animal’s liver. As liver function is important in generating immunity, giving a flukicide at the same time as a vaccine could mean that the vaccine doesn’t work as it should,” he says.
With all products, but especially new ones such as Bovilis® BTV8 vaccination, Mr King stresses the importance of reading the administration information, discussing vaccination with your vet, asking them to contact the manufacturer, and seeking additional information on websites such as:
And this should be done in time to adapt your management plans as necessary. Even with products you have used for years, you should check the package insert in case there have been any updates since you last bought the product or you had previously missed some information. “It is important to remember to use medicines correctly in order to get the best out of them,” Mr King concludes.