Vaccination requires an open dialogue between the producer and a vet, discussing what to vaccinate for and when. Knowing how to read the labels of the vaccine is just as important.
With so many decisions to be made and so many other things happening on the farm, it’s easy to see how mistakes can be made or small details can be overlooked when it comes to vaccination. However, there are certain elements of a vaccine label producers should be aware of before processing cattle.
Vaccine label elements
Read Also
Retiring vet medicine professor optimistic about future of animal health research
Retiring vet medicine professor Dr. John Campbell outlined the changes he’s seen in animal health, and expressed optimism about ongoing research, during a keynote address
Lauren Carde is the programs director for the Canadian Animal Health Institute, and she said knowing what is on a vaccine label is very important for producers — specifically the route of administration, correct dose, timing, animal age and whether boosters are needed. It’s important to “ensure the safety of the human, the individual who’s administering it, as well as safety of the animal who’s receiving it and to ensure that vaccine is doing what it claims to do.”
According to the Government of Canada website, there are multiple things that must be on a vaccine label: assigned name, manufacturer and the location of the manufacturer, serial number, establishment license number, directions of use, expiry date, all the components including antigens and preservatives, the quantity in metric units or doses, storage temperature, withdrawal period, the words “for veterinary use only” and any cautionary information necessary.
This data is available in both English and French.
The assigned name is the scientific name of the micro-organism contained within the vaccine. Carde said it is the most prominent part of the vaccine label.
“In terms of coming up with the assigned name, how that typically works is the company that is manufacturing that vaccine will propose an assigned name, the Canadian Centre for Veterinary Biologics will review that, and then they will either approve it, or they will modify it. So that assigned name is a big part of your vaccine label.”
The serial number is the lot or batch number, which Carde said is important because if there were ever an issue with a specific batch of vaccine, it could be traced with the serial number.
In “directions of use,” Carde said this section of the vaccine should be detailed and clear to allow for proper and safe use of the vaccine. It usually includes the dose and if extra doses or boosters are needed, how the vaccine should be administered (intramuscularly, orally, subcutaneous injection), the recommended age to vaccinate the animal, if the vaccine should be administered in a certain location and any precautions for the person administering the vaccine, such as personal protective equipment.
Carde said all these things are required on the veterinary labels. She said labels may look different between brands, but they must all present the same information.
“These are regulated by the Canadian Food Inspection Agency’s Canadian Centre for Vet Biologics. And they are bound by the Health of Animals Act and regulations. So everything that’s on a veterinary vaccine label is as per the regulations.”
Issues
Dr. Catherine Filejski is the CEO of the Canadian Animal Health Institute and an experienced vet. She said one of the biggest issues with vaccine labels is producers don’t read them as thoroughly as they should.
“There should not be any issues or errors with actually reading vaccine labels. All labeling is approved by the Canadian Food Inspection Agency’s Canadian Centre for Veterinary Biologics before a veterinary vaccine can be marketed or sold in Canada, and includes clear and thorough ‘directions for use’ to ensure the proper and safe handling, and administration of the vaccine.”
- RELATED: Vaccination program must assess risk
Dr. Robert Tremblay is the first vice-president of the Canadian Association of Bovine Veterinarians and echoed what Filejski said. He said he often sees issues with doses when producers don’t read the vaccine label closely.
“The amount you give and the route that you give it are two of the really important things,” Tremblay said. “And I would get calls, ‘I read the label after we processed all the cows and realized, we should have given twice as much, or we realized we could have given half as much.’ That’s kind of a bit of a bummer.”
He said producers should also read closely for how the vaccine should be mixed. He said shaking a vaccine that has components of a virus can cause damage to the virus.
“The recommendation now, even if you use something like a transfer needle, is rather than shake it, roll the bottle between your hands to mix it. “It can be annoying sometimes because sometimes they seem slow to dissolve. But then it becomes even more important that you don’t lose your mind when you’re trying to mix it because you run the risk of damaging the vaccine.”
Vaccine schedule
What you vaccinate for depends on your location and what antigens are present in your current area, as well as whether you have a closed or open herd, the history of disease in your herd, whether you show your cattle, etc. In Western Canada, there are some core vaccines producers should consider for their herds. These include:
- bovine herpes virus type 1 (BHV1 — also known as infectious bovine rhino tracheitis or IBR)• bovine viral diarrhea virus (BVDV)
- bovine respiratory syncytial virus (BRSV)
- clostridial pathogens, specifically Clostridial chauvoei (blackleg), C. septicum (malignant edema), C. novyi (black disease), C. sordelli (gas gangrene), and C. perfringens types B, C and D (enterotoxemia and enteritis)
Filejski said producers should make sure they have an appropriate vaccination schedule to ensure they’re not over-vaccinating.
“An appropriate vaccination schedule should be determined in consultation with the producer’s veterinarian to ensure that the animals being vaccinated mount an appropriate immune response to each vaccination.”
Over-vaccinating cattle can lead to antigen overload. When cattle are exposed to too many different varieties of viruses and bacteria at the same time, it can overload their immune systems.
Tremblay said endotoxins are generally not included on a vaccine label, but producers should know that killed bacteria vaccines typically contain some endotoxins.
“There is some concern that you wouldn’t want to give many vaccines that contain endotoxins at the same time,” he said.
“It would be important to be careful about that if the cows were pregnant because you wouldn’t want to run the risk of potentially causing harm.”
Filejski, however, said producers can be confident in the safeness of the vaccines they are using.
“In order to be licensed in Canada, a vaccine must meet rigorous requirements for purity — including purity from microbial byproducts such as endotoxins — as well as potency, safety and efficacy. All licensed veterinary vaccines in Canada are safe for the animals receiving the vaccine, safe for individuals handling and administering the vaccine, safe for the environment and safe for people consuming animal products from vaccinated animals.”
Vet relationship
When it comes to creating a vaccination plan for your operation, Carde, Tremblay and Filejski emphasize the importance of the vet and producer relationship.
“With the vet-client-patient relationship, that is a really, really important part of raising animals,” Carde said. “And so, absolutely, the producer will want to confer with their vet before administering any kind of vaccine. And they can pose any questions to their vet.”
Tremblay said producers should consult their herd vet on a myriad of issues, such as when they’re vaccinating and what they’re vaccinating for, what brands to use to vaccinate and what conditions to follow when vaccinating cows (such as pregnant cattle).
“I think knowing what the local risks are is a big piece of knowledge that the clinic will have that you may not be familiar with, and then knowing the products that contain the antigens that are most important for the local area,” Tremblay said.
