Mixing Vaccinated sheep with non Vacinated Sheep

razor8

I had planned to purchase some ewes privately this year that were vaccinated with both Enzovax & Toxovax. I went to purchase the vaccines for my own flock as i had a lot of abortion last year and have been told theirs no hope of getting it this year. suppliers have been trying to order it since July. one supplier said he could have sold €100,000 worth of the vaccine if it was available.

what i want to know now is there any implications mixing these sheep, can the disease spread from the vaccinated sheep to my own flock????

5live

razor8 wrote: »

I had planned to purchase some ewes privately this year that were vaccinated with both Enzovax & Toxovax. I went to purchase the vaccines for my own flock as i had a lot of abortion last year and have been told theirs no hope of getting it this year. suppliers have been trying to order it since July. one supplier said he could have sold €100,000 worth of the vaccine if it was available.

what i want to know now is there any implications mixing these sheep, can the disease spread from the vaccinated sheep to my own flock????

If they are vaccinated then they will be immune to the disease and therefore will not be carriers and cannot pass it on to your unvaccinated sheep, assuming the vaccinated sheep were done correctly. Thats my understanding anyway

snowman707

Op, did you get any tests done last year

If it's toxo (cant spell the rest of it) your own sheep will have built up self immunity

I imagine they would have some immunity against Enzootic abortion as well.

razor8

I did test them, some came back positive for enzootic and also had some inconclusive, i had up to 20% abortions last year

I have always had a small amount toxo every year (5%) which i dont mind as it provides good immunity to the rest of the flock

I am concerned mixing vacinated sheep with ewe lambs i have kept this year, I would imagine they will not have built any immunity if exposed to the disease.

LostCovey

razor8 wrote: »

I did test them, some came back positive for enzootic and also had some inconclusive, i had up to 20% abortions last year

I have always had a small amount toxo every year (5%) which i dont mind as it provides good immunity to the rest of the flock

I am concerned mixing vacinated sheep with ewe lambs i have kept this year, I would imagine they will not have built any immunity if exposed to the disease.

I don't think a low level of Toxo abortions will provide any immunity to the rest of the flock - each sheep that gets it is getting it from cysts passed by a cat, not from another sheep.

These vaccines are live vaccines, but they are no risk to other sheep in the flock. However unvaccinated sheep coming into your flock are at high risk (purely because both organisms are on your farm).

LC

flatout11

how much enzootic abortion is actually out there??

snowman707

scroll down


http://www.afbini.gov.uk/adds-sheeppasteurellosisdec05.pdf

http://www.afbini.gov.uk/adds-healthysheep.pdf

razor8

My vet informed me it has become an increasing problem, sheep are moving around that country more freely than ever before due to improved transport. I was told it was a problem down in Waterford, Wicklow area as well as many parts of Northern Ireland but it is now spreading around the country, These areas are using the vaccine to control the problem

I bought ewe lambs last year 40 in total down in Tullow and brought them up to Leitrim and I think around 14 of them aborted and passed it on to many other sheep in my flock, mainly younger ewes which were more vulnerable to the disease as they have no resistance built up. They were the only sheep i bought last year so this is why i think the problem started.

Im afraid of what may happen next year but as no vaccine can be bought i can only cross my fingers and hope for the best!

Highland

I think enzo is a much bigger problem than many assume. even the regional vet labs confirm that there is a significant level of under diagnosis with this. once you buy an infected sheep they keep shedding even though they dont abort themselves after the initial abortion - so they keep the thing going in your flock - its a sheep to sheep disease. if you have it you will have to keep vaccinating to protect the rest of you flock.

Toxo on the other hand is not a sheep to sheep disease so your sheep are safe from bought in stock, but not from cats that dung in your fodder, straw or fields. also bought in concentrate feed that has been contaminated with cats faeces is often quoted as being a cause- but its hard to prove.

razor8

i was told yesterday that one of the reasons its so hard to get the vaccines is because the manufacturers what to restrict supplies for a few years so that the problem will get out of hand and they can make a killing from sales

at the moment the vaccine is such a success, they are actually cutting their own throats so to speak. its near to impossible to get it this year and likely to be the same next year

Highland

Intervet Rep said reason for problem with vaccine this year was that it got destroyed in transit from southern hemisphere where it is manufactured - apparently the liquid nitrogen that is used in transporting the toxovac contaminated the vaccine

razor8

Highland wrote: »

Intervet Rep said reason for problem with vaccine this year was that it got destroyed in transit from southern hemisphere where it is manufactured - apparently the liquid nitrogen that is used in transporting the toxovac contaminated the vaccine

they would have to come up with some believable story wouldnt they! there not likely to say out front that its not available because of a business tactic