Egg producers in the Netherlands have been told they can benefit significantly from longer protection against Salmonella enteritidis and Salmonella typhimurium following the launch of a new vaccine by IDT Biologika.
The product, Salmovac 440, was recently unveiled to veterinary surgeons during a series of meeting in the Netherlands by IDT Biologika’s Dr Daniel Windhorst, the company’s salmonella specialist. The move was partly in response to some Dutch poultry farmers keeping their layers for as long as 100+ weeks, to maximise income, following the fall in egg prices during the past year.
“A critical factor in keeping birds for such a long time is to ensure that they remain immune against important diseases, including Salmonella enteriditis and typhimurium,” said Dr Windhorst, adding that the new vaccine has, after a third immunisation, been shown to provide protection against these two diseases for longer than any other commercially-available vaccine.
Salmovac 440 is a live vaccine, administered orally through the water supply in a three-dose regime. In addition to being presented as offering longer and stronger protection, the vaccine is also described as being robust enough to survive in hostile conditions, ensuring that it remains effective where water delivery systems are less than ideal.