Ceva said that pig producers in the UK and Ireland have been given a new means of defence in the fight against salmonella with the launch of a salmonella vaccine that has already been well-proven in Germany and Poland.
Salmoporc, a live, attenuated, vaccine from Ceva, is the only one licensed for pigs in the UK and Ireland. It is administered orally to piglets and through subcutaneous injection in sows. It gives protection against Salmonella Typhimurium and its monophasic variants, which can have serious health implications for both pigs and humans.
Ceva said that salmonella in UK and Irish herds is the highest in the EU, with a prevalence of 19.5% and 17.5% respectively. The company said that it is particularly difficult to control in outdoor herds since the bacteria can survive in soil for a year, even longer in dried dung and has been detected in fields two years after being vacated by pigs.
Ceva veterinarian, Dr Rike Schmelz said: “Salmonella is an increasing problem on pig farms and the bacteria are transmitted through breeding pyramids which eventually supply finishing pigs, Clinical cases of diarrhoea often occur after weaning and tend to be treated with antibiotics.”
“The monophasic variant of S. Typhimurium is already multi-drug resistant and vaccinating pigs can help farmers to substantially reduce their use of expensive antibiotics,” she said. “In addition, with the removal of zinc oxide at therapeutic levels from the feed in mid-2022, salmonella and other enteric diseases are likely to become more apparent.”
