7.5 Can I use antibiotics in combination with an Ileitis vaccine?
For intracellular bacterial pathogens like Lawsonia, live attenuated bacteria offer the most “natural” immunity and are widely considered the best form of vaccine approach. An attenuated live vaccine formulation of Lawsonia intracellularis was therefore developed (Enterisol® Ileitis), intended for oral administration. Because it is a live bacterial form that is administered orally to pigs, it is administered in the middle of a minimum 7-day antibiotic-free period. That way, any antibiotics that are in the pig system would be eliminated and would not kill any vaccine bacteria prior to there uptake. Outside that 7-day period, oral antibiotics can be readily administered to vaccinated pigs without any disruption to vaccine efficacy. Many operations find that an antibiotic-free period can be readily developed 1 to 4 weeks after weaning to allow the live vaccine use.
© Boehringer Ingelheim Animal Health GmbH, 2006
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