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Product awareness and utilization are high on Steve Patterson’s agenda when educating producers on vaccine usage, something he does fairly often.

A short list of the veterinarian’s do’s and don’ts include:

• Delivery destination. A common mistake is having vaccine delivered to an address with no one to receive the package. If possible, arrange deliveries during morning hours.
• Ordering too much product ahead. Frozen vaccine should be used within seven days of delivery. Dry ice should still be present in the shipping container upon product delivery. Place the entire shipping container into the freezer.
• Stock solution pre-measurement. Do the pre-measurement the day prior to the day of vaccination and at the same time as planned vaccination to accurately measure the amount of water the pigs will drink. “We want pigs to consume vaccine in a 6-hour period. Six hours doesn’t mean three or 16 hours. I’ve seen vaccine administered the whole day. A study reported last year shows every pig in a nursery will take a drink during a 6-hour period.”
• Use the company’s ready pack. The packs are collapsible 2-gallon containers used to hold the vaccine solution – not a dirty bucket, or worse, a bucket stained with antibiotics.
• Do a serological profile to determine the onset of ileitis infection/exposure. Vaccine should be given 3-4 weeks before onset of exposure to ileitis. Mid- to late-nursery is most common, but some systems get early exposure.