VACCINE IN, FEED ANTIMICROBIALS OUT
Iowa Select Farms no longer adds feed-grade antibiotics to finishing diets. A herd health program that utilizes the oral Enterisol
Other producers appear to be following a similar trend. After years of strategically trying to place feed medicatAions in an effort to control ileitis, the avirulent live culture vaccine is offering long-lasting immunity by simply adding it once to the drinking water.
Pigs are vaccinated at 12-14 weeks of age at Iowa Select. Staff veterinarian Andy Holtcamp says there are no growth promotants or therapeutics in the finishing feed. “Mostly, that's due to the use of Enterisol Ileitis,” he points out.
Based in Iowa Falls, Iowa Select is the state's largest pork-producing company. With 130,000 sows in farrow-to-finish operations, it ranks among the country's top 10 producers.
The company keeps a database that allows its veterinarians to pull records on monthly treatments. Holtcamp says they found antibiotic treatment was used on greater than 70 clinical cases per month for what they perceived as ileitis. Since they've started vaccinating for ileitis, they treat fewer than 15 per month. “The difference is dramatic,” he adds.
Employees use a checklist provided by Boehringer Ingelheim when preparing and administering the vaccine. Holtcamp stresses a few of the more important requirements:
Use only very clean buckets or Ready Packs sold by Boehringer Ingelheim as vaccine stock solution reservoirs.
Premeasure water consumption the day before to know how much is used in a four-hour period. Iowa Select managers measure water consumption over a 12-hour period to check for dips in intake.
Monitor vaccine delivery to be sure it's being done correctly.
In cases where ileitis outbreaks have occurred after vaccination, Iowa Select staff members have discovered these storage and handling errors:
Vaccine was stored longer than a week in a self-defrosting freezer.
Vaccine was mixed with chlorinated rural water to speed thawing before it was added to the Ready Pack.
The time period for delivery was not correct. Consumption was actually more than estimated due to hot weather or leaky water nipples. Targeted administration is four to six hours to reach every pig.
Medicators were not monitored during administration of the vaccine.
“The ileitis vaccine has dramatically reduced the occurrence of ileitis-like symptoms in our pigs,” says the Iowa Select veterinarian. “It's very effective when properly administered.”