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A32-Lanca«tef Farming, Saturday, February 28, 1998
Dairy Vaccination Program Should Be Part Of
ANDY ANDREWS
Lancaster Fanning Staff
LANCASTER (Lancaster Co.)
No amount of vaccination use
will make up for bad management,
most veterinarians agree.
Importantly, producers should
look at vaccines not as cure-alls
but as “tods as part of your total
management program,’* said Dr.
Robert Munson, VMD with the
University of Pennsylvania’s New
Bolton Center in Kennett Square.
Munson spoke to about 100
dairy producers and agri-industry
representatives Tuesday at the first
of the two-part Penn State
sponsored Lancaster County Dairy
Days at the Farm and Home
Center.
Munson told producers to “talk
with their vet" about how to imple
ment an overall vaccine program.
“Sit down and decide what your
aims and goals are, and move
along with it”
Many times, producers spend
time vaccinating and don’t think
beyond that But when we vacci
nate, Munson said, u do we
immunize?"
The goal of a vaccine is to pro
vide a protective immunity on sev
eral levels to fight natural infec
tion. But all too often producers
want to immunize for everything.
However, in the end, does die cost
and risk of using vaccine outweigh
the costs of having the actual dis
eases present in the herd?
While there are vaccination
programs for lepto and bovine vir
us diarrhea (BVD), there are con
cerns and questions about whether
side effects can be present that
could affect other aspects of herd
health.
Munson noted that he prefen
the use pf modified live virus vac
cine on heifers. Those vaccine
types provide long-lasting immun
ity, few inoculating doses are
required, and there are effective
administration rates (oral and nas
al) with low probability of hyper
sensitivity. Some of the disadvan
tages include a concern for abor
tions, a limited shelf life, the
possibility of the vaccine reverting
to a virulent state, and other
reactions.
The other type of vaccine prog
ram available, a killed vaccine, is
unlikely to cause disease, is stable
in storage, yet has some disadvan
tages. Munson noted they include
short-lived immunity, hypersensi
tivity, and the possibility of local
tissue reaction at the injection site,
among other factors. Also, many
producers forget the importance of
multiple doses to help achieve the
desired immune response.
Importantly, vaccines should
only be used as part of a program
when suggested by a responsible
veterinarian.
Producers should be aware that
there is no BVD vaccine that pro
tects against all serotypes of BVD
virus in the field.
Suggestions Munson has is to
use a modified live virus vaccine in
heifers, not young Begin
vaccination of heifers after five
months of age—use leptospirosis
vaccine at this time and follow the
initial vaccine with a booster two
weeks to two months after the ini
tial dose.
For administering vaccines,
producers should design a system
on the farm to expedite the vaccine
administration thus avoiding a
“rodeo" that sometimes occurs for
the young stock and the frustra
tions of trying to administer a vac
Overall Herd Management Plan
cine without proper planning.
“You shouldn’t try to vaccinate
for everything,” Munson said.
“Design a program that fits your
management system.”
Munson also reviewed bovine
virus diarrhea (BVD), its causes,
symptoms, and treatment
Importantly, BVD can wreak
havoc in a hod one way: it’s car
ried by persistently infected (PI)
animals in the herd and can infect
“herdmate to herdmate and herd to
herd,” he said.
Those PI animals “shed large
quantities of virus their entire life,”
even though only 1-2 percent of
the herd can be actively shedding
the virus at any given time.
BVD is introduced into the herd
commonly when buying bred heif
ers, Munson noted. If purchasing
heifers, ensure through documen
tation that those heifers have been
classified BVD-frec.
BVD is die “most costly virus
disease in Pennsylvania cattle,”
said Munson. All BVD is not
equal, he noted, and affects the
herd differently, depending the
stage of gestation at the time of
exposure.
Common symptoms include
abortions, poor conception rates,
cows returning to heat after being
confirmed pregnant, abnormal
heat intervals, stillbirths, or small
calves. In any case, the virus is
often difficult to isolate even if the
producer supposes it is present in
the herd.
To eliminate BVD from a herd,
Munson noted that it takes a tong
time and perseverance because it’s
not easy to develop and identify.
Mote likely, the virus is being
shed from die younger stock,
because BVD is primarily a dis
ease of young animals. The older
ones infected die off after they
begin shedding the virus. To elimi
nate the virus, producers must
have a vaccination program in
place “and follow it as closely as
possible,” he said.
Also at the Lancaster County
Dairy Day, another New Bolton
Center veterinarian provided
information about a new program
to certify Johne’s Disease-free
herds in the state.
According to Dr. Robert Whit
lock, DVM of New Bolton and
Johne’s Disease expert, Pennsyl
vania as a state has been “fairly
aggressive about Johne’s Disease”
control methods. Out of 180 herds
in the state already signed up. 20
herds test negative.
Producers simply need to sign
an agreement between them and
their veterinarian and testing is
available at no cost
Eventually, Whitlock noted that
someday the list of certified
Johne’s Disease-free herds could
be listed in newspapers.
Johne’s Disease. Whitlock
explained, is a chronic bacterial
infection of the small intestine of
ruminant animals. The disease has
a tong incubation period of 2-10
years. It was first identified by Dr.
Johnc in 1895.
Whitlock spoke about a Dairy
NAHMS survey in 19% con
ducted with I,2ooproducers in the
country. Of die producers, 55 per
cent were fairy knowledgeable
about Johne’s Disease, 35 percent
heard about it. and 10 percent nev
er heard about it all. More educa
tion is needed, according to
experts.
Johne’s, a clustered disease,
often goes undetected in the herd.
Many herd owners could have it in
Lancaster County Dairy Day speakers, from left. Or. Robert Whitlock, DVM from
New Bolton Center; Dr. Robert Munson, VMD, New Bolton; and Glenn Shirk, Lancaster
County dairy extension agent.
their cattle and not know about it
However, losses because of the
disease can be substantial.
In terms of body weight at
slaughter, the disease can cost pro
ducers $45 a cow. Decreased milk
production can run from
$2OO-5300 per year per cow.
Johne’s is caused by a bacter
ium, Microbacterium paratuber
culosis. It’s a “first cousin” to
tuberculosis, Whitlock noted.
The bacterium can be present in
animals and 95 percent of them
actually show no signs of the dis
ease, according to the New Bolton
Center veterinarian. About five
percent will show the symptoms of
weight toss, intermittent diarrhea,
and some will provide the “class
ic” image of infection
emaciation.
The bacterium infects the small
intestine and actually works to
inhibit the uptake of nutrients.
Basically, the animal starves to
death.
The problem in herds is caused
by the bacteria shedders. animals
that spread the bacteria readily
New, Beginning Farm Workshop
GRANTYILLE (Dauphin Co.)
One of America’s most dyna
mic and innovative fanners will
address the New and Beginning
Farmer Workshop on March 7,
1998 here at the Holiday Inn.
Promoting food production that
is environmentally, emotionally,
and economically enhancing for
both producer and consumer, Joel
Salatin is a third generation farmer
who enthralls audiences with his
presentations about his family’s
SSO-acre Virginia farm.
A word craftsman, Salatin des
cribes his diverse Cum enterprises
with ear-catching phrases: salad
bar beef, pastured poultry,
pigaerator perk, and pastured rab
bits. Through what he calls “rela
tionship marketing” to 400
“cheerleader” customers, he re
ceives full retail dollars for every
thing the Cum produces.
Pennsylvania Agriculture
Secretary Samuel E. Hayes Jr. will
welcome the expected crowd of
300 new and beginning fanners to
die day-long event scheduled from
through manure. Young animals
can ready digest the bacteria if
exposed to the manure.
In the words of Dr. Christine
Rossiter, from New York State,
“All manure is guilty until proven
otherwise,” noted Whitlock.
It’s important to isolate young
stock from manure by providing
good, clean, and dry calf hutches.
Also, keep the bedding in the pens
clean. Provide safe colostrum
(don’t pool colostrum). Keep
calves and heifers away from adult
cows.
Prevention of the disease starts
with a closed herd. If replacements
are purchased, inquire about the
disease. Use good biosecurity on
the farm. And ask those “hard
questions,” he noted, of your herd:
could you have it and not know it?
Can Johne’s be successfully con
trolled? Whitlock indicated that,
yes. it can be controlled, but it
takes a number of years.
For the control of mastitis in the
herd, it’s important to provide
clean, comfortable bedding for
cows. The rate of mastitis in a herd
is “clinically related to the bacter-
8 a jn. to 4:30 p.m. Other speakers
will tell workshop attendees how
they worked into their family’s
business or how they started from
scratch.
Afternoon sessions will supply
helpful information to beginners
on dairy, fruit, vegetables, beef,
poultry, hog, and other types of
farming enterprises. In addition to
production information, business
planning and farm management
information will be presented.
Salatin will round out die con-
Tree Seedling Sale
LANCASTER (Lancaster Co.)
The Lancaster County Conser
vation District’s Annual Tree
Seedling Sale is in progress.
The tree sale provides Lancas-
ter County residents with plant
mpteriah for conservation plant
ings. Proceeds benefit die Conser
vation District’s environmental
Miration activities in Lancaster
County.
farflingi offered include coni-
ial counts in the bedding,” accord*
ingtoDr. Michacla Kris tula, DVM
from New Bolton Center.
Kris tula said that, for clean bed
ding and reduced bacterial count,
“sand is the absolute best” bed
ding, she said, with very low bac
terial numbers. A six-inch layer
over a dirt floor (for proper mois
ture drainage) is ideal.
Kris tula pointed out the preva
lence of bacteria in a short time
with the use of sawdust But one
producer at the Dairy Day noted
the uses of lime and sawdust as a
good combination. The veterina
rian reviewed proper procedures
for pre- and post-dipping of teats.
She emphasized the importance of
proper cleaning methods, hygiene,
and other factors.
Dr. Robert Whitlock spoke
about the effects of bovine leuko
sis virus on the herd, how it affects
cows and various prevention and
control measures.
Part 2 of the Lancaster County
Dairy Days is scheduled Tuesday.
March 3 at the Farm and Home
Center.
fcrencc with his discussion on
building your enterprise for the
next generation. He said “We can
talk all day about the environment
and clean food, but if our farms
are not fun, not profitable, or too
much work, our children won’t
want them and we’re spitting in
the wind. Romancing the next
generation into fanning is the ulti
mate test of sustainability.”
For more information about this
workshop, call Pennsylvania Faim
Link at (717) 558-7726.
fen, hardwoods, ornamental flow
ering fruit trees, potted stock, and
groundcover. Only prepaid orders
are accepted.
Deadline for placing orders is
March 20. Orden can be picked
up on Friday, April 17. at the Ki
wanis Pavilion in the Lancaster
County Central Park. To receive
an order form, call (717)
299-5361.