Vaccination
Coopers Animal Health, a division of Schering-Plough, has released a new vaccine "Piliguard" in Australia. The vaccine contains three strains of Morexella bovis (SAH38, FLA 64, EPP 63) pilli antigen. This stimulate antibody production against the bacterial pilli to prevent their attachment and invasion of the conjuntiva. The company claims that the vaccine reduce the incidence and severity of the disease in an individual animal which directly reduce animal suffering and production loss on top of limiting the spread of disease through the herd. This in turn reduces the amount of antibioitcs and fly repellent needed during high-risk seasons. The vaccine is marketed in multidose-vials and have an adjuvant to create a long-term subcutaneous depot. This means that no booster shot is necessary but severe local reaction can be seen in people who accidentally self-inoculate. Calves as young as 1 week old can be treated and there is no meat, milk or export slaughter interval withhold.
Read more about this topic: Infectious Bovine Keratoconjunctivitis