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An investigation of the efficacy of a polyvalent mastitis vaccine using different vaccination regimens under field conditions in the United Kingdom

Bradley, A.J.; Breen, J.E.; Payne, B.; White, V.; Green, M.J.

Authors

JAMES BREEN JAMES.BREEN@NOTTINGHAM.AC.UK
Clinical Associate Professor

B. Payne

V. White

MARTIN GREEN martin.green@nottingham.ac.uk
Professor of Cattle Health & Epidemiology



Abstract

Vaccination can play a useful role in mastitis control programs, although there is a relative dearth of large, well-controlled field efficacy studies. This paper presents the findings on the use of a commercially available vaccine (Startvac, Hipra UK Ltd., Nottingham, UK) on commercial units under UK field conditions. In total, 3,130 cows were recruited from 7 farms and were randomly allocated, within farm, to 1 of 3 groups. The first group received the vaccine following the label regimen, the second group was vaccinated every 90 d following an initial vaccination course, and the third group was left unvaccinated to act as controls. Vaccine efficacy was assessed in the first 120 d of lactation. Data were available for analysis from 1,696 lactations in 1,549 cows. In total, 779 cases of clinical mastitis occurred in the 3 study groups, and we detected no significant difference in the incidence or prevalence of clinical or subclinical mastitis between any of the 3 groups. Mastitis vaccination following the label regimen was associated with a significant reduction in the severity of clinical cases. Cows in this group were at significantly decreased odds of developing clinical mastitis presenting with more than just milk changes [odds ratio: 0.58; 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.35–0.98]. Similarly, each additional vaccination resulted in a cow being at decreased odds of developing clinical mastitis presenting with more than just milk changes (odds ratio: 0.87; 95% CI: 0.77–0.98). Although no cows were culled because of severe mastitis in either of the vaccinated groups, we detected no significant difference in the mastitis-related culling rate between groups. Analysis of milk production data demonstrated that, on average, cows on the label regimen produced a higher volume of milk (231 L; 95% CI: 104.1–357.4) and more milk solids (12.36 kg; 95% CI: 3.12–21.60) than unvaccinated cows in the first 120 d of lactation. Conservative analysis suggested that a return on investment of 2.57:1 could be expected under UK conditions based on increased milk yield alone.

Citation

Bradley, A., Breen, J., Payne, B., White, V., & Green, M. (2015). An investigation of the efficacy of a polyvalent mastitis vaccine using different vaccination regimens under field conditions in the United Kingdom. Journal of Dairy Science, 98(3), https://doi.org/10.3168/jds.2014-8332

Journal Article Type Article
Acceptance Date Oct 9, 2014
Online Publication Date Dec 18, 2014
Publication Date Mar 1, 2015
Deposit Date Oct 20, 2016
Publicly Available Date Mar 29, 2024
Journal Journal of Dairy Science
Print ISSN 0022-0302
Electronic ISSN 1525-3198
Publisher American Dairy Science Association
Peer Reviewed Peer Reviewed
Volume 98
Issue 3
DOI https://doi.org/10.3168/jds.2014-8332
Keywords vaccination; mastitis; milk production; coliform; Escherichia coli
Public URL https://nottingham-repository.worktribe.com/output/984498
Publisher URL http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0022030214008741

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