Calf scour vaccine’s shelf-life increased to 28 days
© Tim Scrivener A big increase in the shelf-life of a widely used calf scour vaccine could save medicine wastage and money on beef and dairy farms.
Previously, Bovilis Rotavec Corona, used to immunise pregnant cattle for E.coli, rotavirus and coronavirus, had to be used within eight hours of opening. However, the new license enables farmers to use it for up to 28 days after broaching the vial.
“For all-year-round calving dairy herds, for example – that may want to vaccinate successive pregnant dams on different days – it will make an opened bottle of vaccine last much longer,” said MSD Animal Health ruminant veterinary adviser Dr Kat Baxter-Smith.
See also: How to prevent and treat calf scours
“Those running batch calving herds with a long calving period should also benefit. We hope this will help reduce unnecessary wastage of the vaccine on farm and save farmers money,” she added.
Vaccine storage
Storage and best practice still includes:
- Keeping the vaccine upright and refrigerated (at 2-8°C) before and after broaching, and after first use
- Using sterile needles and equipment
- Using a multi-dose syringe to minimise vaccine contamination and excessive broaching of the bottle