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VACCINES -PIGS

Note for Farmers:

This information is provided by Provet for educational purposes only.

You should seek the advice of your veterinarian if your stock are ill as only he or she can correctly advise on the diagnosis and recommend the treatment that is most appropriate for your animals.

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Description
Vaccines provide animals with protection against serious infectious diseases or toxins. They can work in several ways :

  • Passive Immunity - antiserum (ready-made antibodies) is injected into the animal to immediately attack the infection. Immunity of this type is only short-acting as long as the antibodies are active in the blood, usually 3-12 weeks. An example of this type of vaccine is antiserum against Clostridium perfringens
  • Active Immunity - injecting live or inactivated organisms (or fragments of the organism, or inactivated toxins) into an animal stimulates the animals immune system to produce antibodies against the infectious agent or toxin in the vaccine. Most pig vaccines are of this type and they are used against bacteria, viruses or parasites. Protection generally lasts longer with live vaccines than with killed vaccines 

Interference with the development of immunity following vaccination can occur in certain circumstances :


Pig Vaccines Available in the UK

Below is a list of all Porcine vaccines licensed for use in the UK (Correct as at 1st October 2013). Not all brands may be available depending upon marketing decisions by the various marketing license holders. Also, the content of individual vaccines may be changed so you are advised to check the current details for these vaccine brands at the Veterinary Medicines Directorate website (www.vmd.defra.gov.uk )

Key

ADV – Aujeszky’s Disease Virus

BB – Bordetella bronchiseptica

CN – Clostridium novyi

CP – Clostridium perfringens

CSFV - Classical swine fever virus

CT – Clostridium tetani

EC - Escherichia coli

ER - Erysipelothrix rhusiopathiae

FMDV – Foot and Mouth Disease virus

HP - Haemophilus parasuis

LI - Lawsonia intracellularis

MH – Mycoplasma hyopneumoniae

PC-2 –  Porcine circovirus-2

PM – Pasteurella multocida

PP – Porcine parvovirus

PRRSV - Porcine respiratory and reproductive syndrome virus

S – Shigella

SIV – Swine influenza virus

Vaccine Components

Brand names

Marketing License Holder

Inactivated Bacterial vaccines

 

 

BB + PM

Porcilis AR-T DF

Rhiniseng

Intervet

Laboratorios Hipra SA

CN + CP + EC

Suiseng

Laboratorios Hipra SA

CP + EC

Gletvax 6

Porcilis ColiClos

Pfizer

Intervet

CP + CT

Lambivac

Intervet

EC

Neocolipor

Porcilis Porcoli

Merial

Intervet

ER

Porcilis Ery

Intervet

HP

Porcilis Glasser

Intervet

MH

Hyoresp

Ingelvac MHyo

Ingelvac MycoFlex

M + PAC

Mypravac suis

Porcilis M Hyo ID

Porcilis M Hyo

Stellamune Mycoplasma

Stellamune Once

Merial

Boehringer Ingelheim

Boehringer Ingelheim

Intervet

Laboratorios Hipra SA

Intervet

Intervet

Eli Lilly

Eli Lilly

S

Ecoporc Shiga

IDT Biologika Gmbh

Inactivated Viral and Bacterial vaccines

 

 

ER + PP

Porcilis Ery + Parvo

Suvaxyn Parvo/E

Intervet

Zoetis

Inactivated Viral vaccines

 

 

FMDV

Aftopur DOE

Aftovaxpur DOE

Merial

Merial

PC-2

Circovax

Ingelvac CircoFlex

Porcilis PCV

Suvaxyn PCV

Merial

Boehringer Ingelheim

Intervet

Zoetis

PP

Parvovax

Suvaxyn Parvo ST

Merial

Zoetis

PRRSV

Ingelvac PRRS KV

Progressis

Boehringer Ingelheim

Merial

SIV

Gripovac 3

Respiporc Flu3

Merial

IDT Biologika Gmbh

CSFV

Porcilis Pesti

Intervet

Live Bacterial vaccines

 

 

LI

Enterisol Ileitis

Boehringer Ingelheim

Live Viral vaccines

 

 

ADV

Suvaxyn Aujeszky  783

Zoetis

PRRSV

Porcilis PRRS

Unistrain PRRS

Intervet

Laboratorios Hipra SA


Contraindications
Pigs should not be vaccinated if they  :

  • Are not well
  • Have a high body temperature
  • Are within 6 weeks of having been given corticosteroids or other drugs that can reduce the immune response
  • Have been treated with antibiotics which might affect the live organisms in a vaccine
  • Are stressed

Side Effects
There are a number of side-effects that may be seen following vaccination, including the following :

  • The organisms in live vaccines can sometimes cause mild signs of the disease and they can be transferred to other animals in a herd and cause mild signs of disease in them as well
  • Live vaccines may damage the fetus in pregnant animals, so they should not be used in pregnant animals if a killed vaccine is available.
  • Some live vaccines can result in a long term "latent" infection which may affect blood tests and have implications on the future movement of animals
  • Vaccines can cause a local reaction and irritation at the site of injection
  • Hair loss, and sometimes a change of hair or skin  colour can occur at the injection site
  • If the vaccine is administered by injection without cleaning the skin surface infection may be introduced into the site resulting in abscess formation
  • Rarely an individual animal may show a severe shock (anaphylactic) reaction following vaccination. Prompt veterinary attention is needed or the animals life can be at risk.

Storage
Vaccines will lose their potency if they are not stored properly. They should be stored as specified by the manufacturers, and usually this will require storage in a refrigerator at 2-8o C. Most vaccines should not be frozen, and they should not be allowed to come into contact with direct sunlight, or disinfectants.


Administration
Vaccines can be administered by various routes, but subcutaneous or intramuscular injection is the most common route. The intranasal route is used for some vaccines against respiratory diseases. Scarification is used for some vaccines against skin infections and administration by mouth is possible for some vaccines.

The skin at the injection site should be cleaned and wiped with spirit, and sterile syringes and needles should always be used . Repeated use of the same needle increases the risk of transmission of disease between animals and should be discouraged.


Health and Safety Considerations
All sharps used in the vaccination process (glass vials, needles etc) should be placed into an approved sharps box, and be disposed of by an approved method.

Vaccines should be handled with care, and every precaution should be taken to avoid accidental injection of the person administering the vaccine, or an assistant restraining the animal.

Vaccines that are oil-based cause a severe, painful swelling if self-injected and they can result in loss of a finger due to reduced blood supply caused by the vaccine.

Some live vaccines are potential harmful to people, for example toxoplasmosis vaccine should not be handled by pregnant women, young fertile women, or people with poor immune systems. Protective gloves and eye goggles should be worn when handling these vaccines.

 


Frequency of Administration
The frequency of administration of vaccines depends on several factors including the following :

  • the type of vaccine
  • the age of the animal
  • the circumstances under which the vaccine is being given, and 
  • the route of administration. 

Withdrawal Periods
Pigs can not be sent for slaughter and for human consumption after the administration of some medications. Vaccines usually have a withdrawal period of nil for slaughter.

 

Updated October 2013