Lepto

Sami23

Advice needed please !
Had a lot of fertility issues last summer, cows not coming in heat after calving, cows repeating multiple times and worst of all some not in calf at all at scanning time so got a few blood tested last week and they all came back positive for Lepto.

Now I don't know much about Lepto and never vaccinated for it before which was obviously a mistake so would like some advice on the following:

* Will a vaccination like Leptavoid-H cure the Lepto or is it just a vaccine ?
* Do I need to vaccinate just the cows I will be breading this year or do I also need to vaccinate the culls and heifers etc.
* When should I vaccinate - would be hoping to start breeding in May

TIA

Mooooo

Vaccinate everything of breeding age in the herd, may get away without doing culls but anything that is staying around shoild be done. They will have to be done twice the first year 3 weeks apart so prob best to do them in march/April and then booster every year.

grassroot1

Mooooo wrote: »

Vaccinate everything of breeding age in the herd, may get away without doing culls but anything that is staying around shoild be done. They will have to be done twice the first year 3 weeks apart so prob best to do them in march/April and then booster every year.

As above include the bull. You need to get going in order to have them vaccinated in time for breeding (3 weeks before)

Sami23

grassroot1 wrote: »

As above include the bull. You need to get going in order to have them vaccinated in time for breeding (3 weeks before)

Actually AI here so no Bull.
Would I also have to do younger females say last year's heifer calves that I won't b selling till the backend as stores ?

anthony500_1

Is it ok to do them min 2 weeks pre calving then in 4 weeks time again say with a 2 week old calf at foot, like op I had a disaster in 2016 with it, I'd swear it was heifers I bought in but anyways. Any advice welcome.

Also op, you need to do them I think 4 to 6 weeks apart, and according to the bottle, it does not keep for the 4 weeks between, so a second new bottle is required........ Pet hate of mine. Wasting a half bottle and having to turn around again and buy more grrrrrr

Sami23

anthony500_1 wrote: »

Is it ok to do them min 2 weeks pre calving then in 4 weeks time again say with a 2 week old calf at foot, like op I had a disaster in 2016 with it, I'd swear it was heifers I bought in but anyways. Any advice welcome.

Also op, you need to do them I think 4 to 6 weeks apart, and according to the bottle, it does not keep for the 4 weeks between, so a second new bottle is required........ Pet hate of mine. Wasting a half bottle and having to turn around again and buy more grrrrrr

Yes was googling there and 4 to 6 weeks between shots is correct.
That's a disaster about the the stuff not lasting in between.

Do you know if all females on farm will need to be done or just the breeding stock ?

anthony500_1

I did all breading stock, but not the bull, will do him this time just in case I didn't do the rest as they were on an outfarm at the time and I didn't realize the stuff wouldn't keep till I got them home the following month

The man in red and black

Sami23 wrote: »

Actually AI here so no Bull.
Would I also have to do younger females say last year's heifer calves that I won't b selling till the backend as stores ?

Yes, the less carriers you have the better. Plus don't forget, Lepto is contagious to humans. So if you have it there vaccinate all stock.

Sami23

The man in red and black wrote: »

Yes, the less carriers you have the better. Plus don't forget, Lepto is contagious to humans. So if you have it there vaccinate all stock.

I suppose that makes sense alright.

Excuse my ignorance here but do the male animals need to be done also or do they get Lepto or is it just females ?

The man in red and black

Sami23 wrote: »

I suppose that makes sense alright.

Excuse my ignorance here but do the male animals need to be done also or do they get Lepto or is it just females ?

Depends on the system. If it's a bunch of bullocks that are kept entirely separate from a dairy herd then you might not do them. Definitely vaccinate any teasers or bulls. If bullocks running close to heifers then I would still vaccinate. Every system is different.

cacs

Sami23 wrote: »

Advice needed please !
Had a lot of fertility issues last summer, cows not coming in heat after calving, cows repeating multiple times and worst of all some not in calf at all at scanning time so got a few blood tested last week and they all came back positive for Lepto.

Now I don't know much about Lepto and never vaccinated for it before which was obviously a mistake so would like some advice on the following:

* Will a vaccination like Leptavoid-H cure the Lepto or is it just a vaccine ?
* Do I need to vaccinate just the cows I will be breading this year or do I also need to vaccinate the culls and heifers etc.
* When should I vaccinate - would be hoping to start breeding in May

TIA

I bought in a few incalf heifers a couple of years ago they riddled with lepto.
My vet said to I need to kill the infection in the kidneys first. I think I done all breeding stock including the bull with 2 injections of 50 of streptomicine or maybe alamiceine two days apart then vaccinate for lepto. Two vaccines 4-6 weeks apart. I would also consider vaccinating for IBR as it effect fertility

patsy_mccabe

This year I had a few cows that I thought were well in calf, come bulling again.
Before I talk to my vet, I want to be clear in my own head first about a few things.
If I blood a few and they come up positive for Lepto, is it ok not to cull them and will the vaccine be ok to cover them going forward?

Also can you vaccine all the herd at one time or does it have to be before the breding season? My calving is spread out as I have a few pedigrees aswell.

Is it a waste vaccinating while pregnant?

Sorry to resurrect an old thread, but I thought better than starting a new one.

cacs

Hello Patsy. I am not a vet so double check everything i say, but my understanding is. If you find you have lepto in your herd. You should treat all your herd including your bull for two days with a round of penstrip to kill the in infection. then you should begin a lepto vaccine program. Only start your vaccination program after you have treated the disease. Its ok as far as i understand to vaccinate while they are incalf also. There is no need to cull if you have infected cows only cull if you don't want to carry empties. Then one round of the vaccine every year to all breeding animals

greysides

Patsy, as you infer, there may be other explanations than just Lepto.
If you blood some and they are positive it means they have come in contact with Lepto, and therefore there's a chance some of those will remain as carriers. There's no point culling them as there may be loads of other positives amongst those you didn't test...
The vaccine will boost immunity. Carriers will become less likely to shed and in-contacts will have their protection levels raised.
The idea of vaccinating before pregnancy starts is to have immunity high to prevent embryo loss as well as abortions. For simplicity I would try to do all the herd in the one go and pick a time that is best for most. Do pregnant cows too to prevent abortions, stillbirths and weak calves.
The PenStrep regime would be the Gold Standard approach but not common.
Do heifer calves as young as vaccine permits to prevent their kidneys becoming colonised and stop them becoming carriers.
Remember Lepto is a zoonosis so always use long arm gloves at calvings and avoid cattle urine splashes on face, cuts etc.

cacs

greysides wrote: »

Patsy, as you infer, there may be other explanations than just Lepto.
If you blood some and they are positive it means they have come in contact with Lepto, and therefore there's a chance some of those will remain as carriers. There's no point culling them as there may be loads of other positives amongst those you didn't test...
The vaccine will boost immunity. Carriers will become less likely to shed and in-contacts will have their protection levels raised.
The idea of vaccinating before pregnancy starts is to have immunity high to prevent embryo loss as well as abortions. For simplicity I would try to do all the herd in the one go and pick a time that is best for most. Do pregnant cows too to prevent abortions, stillbirths and weak calves.
The PenStrep regime would be the Gold Standard approach but not common.
Do heifer calves as young as vaccine permits to prevent their kidneys becoming colonised and stop them becoming carriers.
Remember Lepto is a zoonosis so always use long arm gloves at calvings and avoid cattle urine splashes on face, cuts etc.

That’s great info greyside. Is there any point in treating with pinstrip if lepto is confirmed before vaccination.

patsy_mccabe

Thanks guys. I'll talk to the vet. If Lepto is not found, is it still worth vaccinating for it?

cacs

patsy_mccabe wrote: »

Thanks guys. I'll talk to the vet. If Lepto is not found, is it still worth vaccinating for it?

I think lepto vaccine is the best money any cattle breeder can spend.

greysides

The PenStrep clears the leptospires from the kidneys of carriers, rending them..... not-carriers. Cost and whether you can afford to blanket-treat an entire milking herd need to be considered. For a small pedigree herd it would be worth considering. Ultimately you make your own decision. Personally, I'd lean towards it but most just vaccinate.

cacs

greysides wrote: »

The PenStrep clears the leptospires from the kidneys of carriers, rending them..... not-carriers. Cost and whether you can afford to blanket-treat an entire milking herd need to be considered. For a small pedigree herd it would be worth considering. Ultimately you make your own decision. Personally, I'd lean towards it but most just vaccinate.

Yes my own vet said the same

greysides

patsy_mccabe wrote: »

Thanks guys. I'll talk to the vet. If Lepto is not found, is it still worth vaccinating for it?

Ah, let me see... how do pharmaceutical companies like to put it.....

(paraphrased)

.. if you do have it you should vaccinate

.. if you don't have it you're running a big risk by not vaccinating should it come in....


Both are true.

However taken you extremes... do you vaccinate for Bluetongue, Schmallenburg, Botulism, Bubonic plague, Rabies, Q fever.... etc, etc.

You don't!!!! Oh dear!