Fowl Typhoid Vaccine administered orally brings gains in management

A vaccination program, combined with biosecurity measures, has been presented as the best alternative to combat fowl typhoid, a disease that represents a great economic loss to poultry farms. This is because live attenuated vaccines stimulate the bird’s immune system to produce defense cells and antibodies against the bacterium Salmonella Gallinarum (SG) — the serovar that causes fowl typhoid.

Those that contain the rough strain SG 9R are already used worldwide to control bacterial multiplication in the organism of birds. This is the case of the CampVac® SG9R vaccine, developed by the Biocamp laboratory.

Here, we talk about the importance of vaccination against fowl typhoid and present the two forms of application: administered intramuscularly or orally, the latter administered in drinking water. Both vaccination processes with the CampVac® SG9R program achieve the same results, but one of them brings cost reduction and better distribution of resources.

This is what we are going to talk about in this content, with the contribution of the Business Manager of Biocamp – Southern Region, Gilmei Antonio Balestrin, and the Business Manager of Biocamp, Nelson Haga.

Injectable vs Oral Vaccine Administration

The egg production system has been changing over the last decade. On the one hand, there are more and more poultry farms and large complexes for free-range birds; on the other hand, the new automated houses (generally air-conditioned) have received a greater number of laying hens — there are new sheds that house 180,000 to 220,000 laying hens under the same roof.

Injectable Route

Nelson explains that, as the administration of fowl typhoid vaccine through injectable route is an individual process, the management is different for each of the systems described below:

• Cage-free poultry system
  In this case, part of the flock has to be contained in a fence and the birds caught one by one. They need to be contained correctly, putting the two legs together with the hand, to be presented to the vaccine applicator. The injection is administered in the pectoralis muscle or thigh of the birds. Vaccinated, the bird is released in another part of the house, separated by screens. The process is repeated until the entire flock is vaccinated.
• System of poultry reared in automated cages
  As an example, let’s mention a system of chickens reared in vertical batteries with 5 to 7 floors of cages. First, it is necessary to get to the chicken level, either by moving or static scaffolding. The bird is restrained one at a time, as in the previous system: bringing the two legs together with the hand so that the administration takes place in the pectoral muscle or thigh of the birds.

Oral Administration

Now, when we talk about oral vaccination, administered in drinking water, all birds in the house are vaccinated at the same time. They do not need to be contained or handled, there is no need for screens (in the cage-free system) or scaffolding (in the cage-reared poultry system).

Oral Vaccine: Operational Advantage to Poultry Farms

“The vaccine administration against fowl typhoid via drinking water makes it possible that vaccination procedures that would take days to complete – and associated with strong stress on the birds – can be carried out in just a few hours and without interfering with the behavior of the birds,” says Gilmei.

The stress of birds is greater in the administration of injectable vaccines because of the noise caused by the displacement, assembling and moving equipment (such as scaffolding), the large number of people inside the house, administration of the vaccine itself and need to contain and handle the birds.

Therefore, the vaccine administration administered orally brings clear operational advantages to the poultry farms, with a REDUCTION of:

• Steps in the work routine
• Working time
• Labor Costs
• Management Losses
• Impact on Bird Behavior

Nelson exemplifies with numbers, as illustrated below:

Nelson explains that the estimated time in the infographic for vaccination given intramuscularly may vary, depending on the characteristics of the house or the vaccination program. “It is necessary to use a large workforce for managing injectable vaccination. When you have an internal vaccination team, from the poultry farm itself, several days are necessary,” Nelson sums up.

He uses as an example the situation that occurs in some poultry farms that do not have bird catchers. Each vaccinator does their job individually. This means that usually about 20 vaccinators are required to vaccinate a flock of 100,000 laying hens against fowl typhoid in a single day (or more days if there are fewer vaccine applicators). “It is a very expressive number and that impacts on expenses and time of professionals,” he reinforces.

Although outsourced vaccination teams can be hired to optimize the work, another problem may arise. “In addition to the expensive cost at a time of high expenses for egg production, several people enter the house. It becomes more complex to comply with biosecurity measures such as bathing, changing clothes and downtime (sanitary void)  for 72 hours without contact with birds from other poultry farms.” Thus, it can increase the risk of getting fowl typhoid and other diseases.

Faced with all this, vaccination with CampVac® SG9R, via drinking water, becomes a very attractive management operationally and financially for poultry farms of commercial laying hens.

CampVac® SG9R: liquid and lyophilized

CampVac® SG9R, developed by Biocamp Laboratories, is an effective live attenuated vaccine against fowl typhoid. It stimulates the bird’s immune system to produce defense cells and antibodies against the bacterium Salmonella Gallinarum (SG) and allows the combined administration between injectable vaccination and vaccination via drinking water in order to maintain the effectiveness of the program and bring benefits in the process management with birds.

It is indicated for the immunization of flocks of commercial laying hen in two doses in the rearing phase of the pullets. Revaccinations may also be necessary in the production phase, especially in brown-egg laying hens, animals more susceptible to fowl typhoid.

The vaccine has two presentations: liquid and lyophilized. Both can be administered via drinking water and bring differential gains in the management process of poultry farms. But it is worth remembering that Biocamp is the only company that has a ready-to-use presentation of a liquid vaccine against Salmonella Gallinarum.

Contact Biocamp! Get information about the best program to protect your flock against fowl typhoid and gain an operational advantage with reduced costs and better distribution of resources!

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