Today’s beef producers are more fortunate than the generation of ranchers that preceded them. Tools are now available to prevent disease and drive profitability that simply weren’t available to cattleman as recently as 15 years ago.
Take vaccines for example. It used to be that producers would have to administer multiple injections just to cover the most prevalent diseases. Today, broad spectrum combination vaccines give us the ability to vaccinate for most major respiratory and reproductive diseases with a single injection, followed by appropriate booster shots when necessary.
But as vaccines have become more advanced, many of them have also become much more complicated to use. For instance, the laundry list of warnings or precautions on some newer vaccines, especially the modified live vaccines, has created management nightmares for producers. Diagnostic lab results indicate these vaccines may not be as safe as first thought.
Restrictions on administration timing, age and type of animal are all inconveniences producers are expected to manage around and may contribute to the surprisingly low vaccination rates for U.S. cattle.
According to data compiled by the NationalAnimalHealthMonitoringSystem (NAHMS), compliance for vaccinating adult beef cows for viral pathogens stands at less than 20 percent.
“Unfortunately, the limitations surrounding some of these vaccines present significant roadblocks for producers,” said Dennis Hermesch, DVM, professional services veterinarian, Novartis Animal Health.
“Producers just don’t have time to manage cattle in multiple groups with different vaccination schedules,” added Hermesch. “So it’s not reasonable to expect them to comply with vaccination schedules that are inconvenient and create more work.”
Here’s the good news. There are, in fact, newer broad spectrum vaccines that are proven to be safe, highly efficacious and free of complications. This means producers can spend less time working cattle and tracking vaccination histories and more time managing for operational profitability.
Vira Shield HB, introduced by Novartis Animal Health in 2007 serves as a case study in how a vaccine can be developed that is highly effective, but also works for producers by simplifying their management programs.
“The key to compliance is convenience for the producer,” said Hermesch. “The easier we can make it for them to comply with recommended vaccination schedules, the more likely they are to get vaccines into cattle and prevent disease outbreaks.”
Hermesch says the cow/calf producers he works with place a high value on flexibility and appreciate Vira Shield HB because it can be used on any animal, including pregnant cows. “This may also be the most important time to vaccinate the cow, so we increase the maternal antibodies passed on to the calf. After all, the calf is the one most susceptible to disease.”
Vira Shield HB is safe to use at any time in the production cycle and provides at least eleven months of immunity against BVD. “This really takes the complexity out of herd vaccination,” says Hermesch. “Vira Shield HB also offers protection against Lepto hardjo-bovis, the most common cause of bovine leptospirosis in U.S. cattle and one of the most costly diseases affecting reproduction.”
Hermesch recommends that producers who want more flexibility should work with their veterinarian to develop a vaccination program that’s convenient with their schedule, rather than a schedule dictated to them by restrictive vaccine labels.