Farm veterinar- ians supply the isolate, the spe- cific colony or colonies of bac- teria, which is then further an- alysed in the lab, before a tailored vaccine is produced.
At the vet’s discretion In the Netherlands a so called ‘cascade regulation’ applies. Poultry farmers can use an autovaccine in close consultation with their vet, if there is no registered vaccine on the market or if the registered vaccine is not effective enough on the farm. Farm-specific vaccines do not have to be registered which means that it remains unknown how many farmers use them and for which types of animals. Further to enquiries among numerous vets Poultry World has learned that there is growing interest in autovaccines in both the Netherlands and Germany. Poultry farmers mostly use autovaccines to treat problems with E. coli infections, erysipeloid and Pasteurella; all diseases that the birds are prone to when they have access to an outdoor range. With this type of production gaining in popularity in these countries, autovaccine use is only expected to grow in the future.
Why use an autovaccine? In addition to the usual and sometimes mandatory vaccines for viruses such as Newcastle disease, infectious bronchitis and infectious laryngotracheitis, an autovaccine is often used and combined for bacterial pathogens in the rearing period at 12 and 15 weeks of age. The farm-specific vaccines are used mostly on laying hen farms, followed by duck and tur- key farms, to protect the next flock against farm-specific pathogens. Autovaccines are used to a lesser extent in
12 ▶ POULTRY WORLD | No. 10, 2020
‘The use of autovaccines is commonplace in Germany’
breeding on broiler parent stock farms. The E. coli bacterium (that is known to have 200 different strains) represents the largest share of autovaccine production, because there is no registered vaccine available for some strains. Jeroen Leus, poultry vet with Demetris in the east of the Netherlands, regularly has an autovaccine produced for his clients. Unfortunately, in addition to E. coli problems, he sees Pasteurella or erysipeloid outbreaks almost every month, es- pecially in organic or free-range chickens. Leus indicates that assessing autovaccines is still in its early stages. “The effect of a bacterial inoculation can only be measured by seeing fewer or more clinical problems in the next flock.”
Production process for autovaccines One company that has been producing autovaccines for the Dutch market since 2013 is Dopharma. Dopharma vet Kim van Dinther assists poultry vets with farm-specific vaccines.
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