VACCINATION UPDATE
Defra yesterday announced that the first batch of Bluetongue vaccine (Bovilis
BTV8) has been released to the wholesalers for distribution
to veterinary practices. This initial batch consists
of 1 million doses in 20 doses bottles. It is hoped
that that up to 2 million doses in 50 dose bottles
will be released in a few days time.
USE OF VACCINE
This vaccine is only available for use in the present PZ and practices within
that area should place orders with their wholesalers
for vaccine if they have not already done so. The
vaccine is a 1ml dose with a single dose for sheep
and 2 doses for cattle three weeks apart. Full protection
is not provided until three weeks after the course
is complete. When ordering vaccine for cattle please
order sufficient to cover both doses at the same
time.
The vaccine is classified as POM-V and therefore you should ensure that you
meet the requirements for ‘animals under your
care’ when prescribing this vaccine. You should
satisfy yourself that your client is capable of correctly
administering the vaccine and that they are only
ordering sufficient vaccine for their stock for immediate
use.
It is an offence for both the farmer and vet to order more vaccine than they
require.
OFF LABEL USE
The vaccine is only at present licensed for use in sheep and cattle. It can
be used in other ruminants under the cascade system
under the direct responsibility of a veterinary surgeon.
As with cattle and sheep, there is no withdrawal
time when used in goats.
ADVERSE REACTIONS
This vaccine has previously not been used in the field and any suspected adverse
reactions should be notified to the VMD immediately
using a SARSS form.
PRACTICES NOT IN THE PZ
Those practices with clients not in the PZ at present in England should be making
inquiries about their clients’ possible needs
for vaccine. As more vaccine becomes available the
PZ will be increased on a county by county basis
based upon stocking density, vaccine availability,
and possible risk of disease occurring. Therefore
practices with clients in different counties should
base their lists on the county of residence of the
owner for ease of administration and delivery of
the vaccine.
MOVEMENT OF ANIMALS AFTER VACCINATION. Once animals have been fully vaccinated
and the full protection is effective, animals can
be licensed to be moved out of the PZ to either the
SZ or English free area, Scotland, Wales or exported
to Northern Ireland or other states.
There are three levels of certification possible depending on where the animals
are to be moved to and who has done the vaccination.
These cannot be altered once the vaccination has
been carried out therefore the status of certification
needs to be assessed at the outset.
1) VACCINATION FOR PROTECTION ONLY
If owners do not wish to move the animals out of the PZ they can carry out the
vaccination themselves, recording details in the
medicine book as for any other medicine.
2) VACCINATION TO MOVE TO ENGLISH FREE AREA OR WELSH RESTRICTED ZONE
This is allowed when the animals meet the following requirements
a) They have completed the full course of vaccination i.e. 1 dose in sheep or
after 2nd dose
in cattle more than 60 days before the date of movement.
They have been completely vaccinated for longer than
the time onset of immunity protection as specified
for the vaccine (21 days) and greater than 14 days
after this if they have had an agent identification
PCR test with negative results.
The owner will need a copy of General Licence EXD479 (BT)
They will need to obtain a certificate of veterinary prescription (Annex 5 of
licence). To obtain this the owner must:
a) Present the empty vaccine bottles to their veterinary surgeon who will obtain
the signature of the owner as to their usage. b)
The owner must also demonstrate that the ear tags
of the vaccinated animals have been recorded and
the veterinary surgeon may wish to check this.
Copies of the general licence can be found on the defra website at http://www.defra.gov.uk/animalh/diseases/notifiable/bluetongue/pdf/exd479-080430.pdf
3) VACCINATION FOR EXPORT OR TO MOVE TO FREE AREAS
IN WALES, SCOTLAND AND NORTHERN IRELAND
To move animals to any of the above, these animals will have to be vaccinated
by a veterinary surgeon who will be required to sign
annex 1 of the general licence EXD479 BT.
Pre-movement TB testing is still applied.
Normal export certification will also be required for EU states and Northern
Ireland.
Graham Brooks
01.05.08
BCVA President
