CALF_News_December_2020_January_2021

16 CALF News • December 2020 | January 2021 • www.calfnews.net CALF ANIMAL HEALTH Chuteside Manner EXPLORING THE FRONTIER OF ANIMAL HEALTH A Better Way By Patti Wilson Contributing Editor T his Chuteside examines a multi- faceted topic, and a cutting-edge method of vaccination that is gaining momentum. Though at first it may not seem high-tech, the administration of intranasal vaccines has progressed and developed greatly due to constant research in bovines. Thanks go to Tim Parks, DVM, of Merck Animal Health. His patient expla- nation of immune systems makes the sub- ject matter easier to understand. Merck has developed Nasalgen®3, an IBR, PI3, BRSV vaccine that is currently new and available to U.S. livestock producers. Why Intranasal? In terms of physical use, intranasal vaccines are easier on the cattle, safer for the chute crew and effective against dis- ease. They are Beef Quality Assurance (BQA) friendly, as well. Parks explained that any injection site made by a needle has specific disadvan- tages. Inflammation, site lesions and potential spread of disease by contami- nated needles are all bypassed by the use of an intranasal vaccine. Addition- ally, your crew will have a decreased risk of personal needle sticks, dropped, dirty needles, and vaccine administered improperly. Chutes and calf cradles can impede placement of vaccine in proper injection sites, as well as intramuscular or sub- cutaneous dispersal of product. A nose, however, is a nose and is always found at the front end of an animal. Mucosal tissue in the nasal cavities is an ideal place for uptake of the vaccine, with onset of protection against most pneumonia virus within three days. The Nasalgen®3 vaccine is effective for 6.5 months against infectious bovine rhino- tracheitis (IBR). The proximity of the nasal cavity to lymph nodes is an important asset to the efficiency of Nasalgen®3. Lymph nodes are important for proper immune functions, and vaccines enable them to recognize and trap specific pathogens. Likewise, any injected vaccines should be placed near other lymph nodes, each vaccine in its own specific site. In other words, spread out your shots within the injection site triangle of the neck. The Life Cycle of Cattle Starting at the beginning, cows must get pregnant and stay that way. Vaccinat- ing pregnant cows can be risky in terms of triggering abortion. The Nasalgen®3 vaccine is safe for cows in calf, having been tested on a significant number of females. Additionally, it can be used safely with any stand-alone bovine viral diarrhea (BVD) vaccine, as long as label directions are followed. Some injectable vaccines may cause abortion when young calves are IBR vaccinated, then pass along pathogens to their mothers through nasal shed. Nasalgen®3 is safe for the use on calves nursing cows. Young Calves Many cow-calf producers like to provide a vaccine to newborn calves. This will happen when birth weights are recorded and ear tags are assigned. The ingestion of good colostrum from the cow can interfere with injected vaccine products. Nasalgen®3, however, has demonstrated efficacy in the face of colostrum, providing added immunity for the newborn. This is called “bypass of maternal antibodies” and is an important element of effectiveness in the intranasal vaccine. LEFT: Nasalgen ® 3 is safe and effective for all classes of cattle in any stage of life. It may be used at birth, working well with cows’ colostrum, to add immunity to young stock.