SASKATOON (Staff) – A new vaccine for trichomoniasis won’t eliminate the disease, says a University of Saskatchewan veterinarian.
There is evidence the vaccine has some effect, but it won’t solve the problem, said John Campbell of the herd medicine and theriogenology division of the Western College of Veterinary Medicine.
If pasture managers have implemented a program to control the disease, there would be no need for a vaccine, Campbell said: “It’s not a silver bullet to cure the disease.”
In research findings published in the American Journal of Veterinary Research, half the animals in a test group were vaccinated, with the others used as a control group. Sixty-two percent of the vaccinated heifers produced calves, compared to 31.5 percent of the control heifers.
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Not the whole solution
Those results show vaccination isn’t the entire solution, Campbell said.
Richard Donnelly, marketing manager with Wyeth-Ayerst which markets the vaccine in Canada, said the combination Trichguard VL5 has excellent value.
“You can’t say it protects 100 percent … but it is an excellent tool at increasing the amount of cows becoming pregnant in the first estrous cycle,” said Donnelly, in Montreal.
Trichguard VL5 contains vaccine for vibriosis and leptospirosis, which also lead to low fertility in cattle. He said the vaccine is the cornerstone of management along with a herd control program.
American producers have not been successful in controlling trichomoniasis by management practices alone, said Donnelly.
“Proven management controls have failed because the earlier ones didn’t have the luxury of vaccine,” he said.
The vaccine has been registered recently in Canada. It costs $4 a dose. Two doses are needed the first year and one dose in follow-up years.
