PHOTO: JAN WILLEM SCHOUTEN
PHOTO: JAN WILLEM SCHOUTEN
HEAL ▶▶▶TH
“Of all the autovaccines we produce for poultry farms, 70% have an E. coli pathogen,” she says. For both erysipeloid and Pasteurella, the rates vary between 5% and 10%. The produc- tion process for autovaccines is very specific. “The more me- ticulous the diagnostics, the more chance of achieving a proper vaccine effect,” says Dinther. Farm vets do most of the diagnostics. They supply the isolate, the specific colony or col- onies of bacteria, which is then further analysed in the lab. Producing an autovaccine from a bacterial pathogen usually takes anywhere from four to six weeks, while a registered vac- cine is often immediately available from stock. While the de- velopment of a registered vaccine can take years because of company and legal requirements surrounding both effectivity and safety.
Application For autovaccines, the pathogens are multiplied on gels in the lab until the desired number of doses is reached. The bacteria are then harvested and killed off. An autovaccine is always ‘dead’. After that, the pathogens are mixed with an adjuvant. This is a solvent that increases the vaccine’s effectiveness and influences the immunity period. “We use two types of adju- vants for poultry,” Van Dinther explains. “One has an oil base
and the other has an aluminum hydroxide base”. Oil provides a stronger immune reaction than aluminum hydroxide but can also cause more inoculation reactions, such as vaccine spots. The farmer and the vet decide on which adjuvant to choose, which mostly depends on when the problems occur. When the vaccine is ready, a quality control is carried out and a small number of birds get a test vaccination before it is applied to the whole flock.
Autovaccine cost It is estimated that 10-20% of regular hens and almost all free range hens receive a farm-specific vaccine. The cost depends on the pathogen, the adjuvant, the number of doses and the number of different pathogens and varies between € 70 and € 300 per 1,000 doses. The additional cost per hen is estimat- ed at about € 0.10 when the inoculation is done at the same time as the regular ones. Cost is not an issue, but there are some concerns. The veterinarians involved take the view that an autovaccine should not be used as a standard preventative measure. It should only be used further to frequent bacterio- logical investigation to determine whether a vaccine is need- ed and which it should be. Preferrably, a vaccine tailored to the situation.
No unity in European regulation
The different countries in the Euro- pean Union have different rules and regulations when it comes to au- tovaccines. Every nation decides on their own whether to allow auto- vaccines with or without the need for due process. In order to change that, the European Union has writ- ten a Regulation about veterinary medicines that will take effect in 2022. With this new Regulation the EU aims to regulate the production and use of autovaccines more. Sev- eral autovaccine producers from 10 counties have united in the EMAV (
emav.be) and provide input for the implementation decisions of this new European legislation. Among them are Ripac, where the auto- vaccine production for Dopharma takes place, and Vaxxinova.
In the European Union there is no clear process for the production or use of autovaccines.
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