This is a follow on from Lungworm Pt1.

Question

It seems to me that vaccination is far preferable to using wormers and I don’t think that using wormers is any more convenient than the method of vaccination that you described. Could there be some other reason that these vaccines are not available in Ireland? If I did obtain the vaccine through my vet for next year, at what age should I give the first dose to spring born calves? Cows and calves are turned out 2 days after birth.

Reply

I would recommend that you give the first dose of vaccine to the calves at ten days of age – at this stage the majority of calves will have passed the most critical period for neonatal diarrhoea due to E coli, Rotavirus, Coronavirus and Cryptosporidia. Certainly the chances of calves developing neonatal diarrhoea are much reduced when turned out so early after birth (contaminated housing being a major risk factor for disease on many farms), however it would be prudent not to stress a young calf’s immune system too much by vaccinating prior to 10 days of age. The second oral dose of vaccine should take place then 4 weeks later.

As far as the lack of availability of the vaccine in Ireland, all I can say is that the two most common reasons for product withdrawal are (i) the product sales were poor and the drug manufacturers and distributors don’t feel it is financially viable to continue the delivery of that product into the marketplace in that particular country, and (ii) there have been problems with the efficacy of the product or with the compliance of the product in terms of safety and withdrawal times in accordance with European legislation. I would guess that poor sales were the most likely reason for withdrawal.

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