Studies support use of Stellamune Once™ M hyo vaccine

The single-shot approach to vaccination provides the earliest protection for pigs against Mycoplasma hyopneumoniae — the pathogen frequently associated with enzootic pneumonia— according to the results of two recent studies.

The first study involved more than 90 pigs and assessed the onset and duration of immunity provided by Stellamune™ Once. One-week-old piglets were given either a single 2ml intramuscular dose of the M hyo vaccine or matching saline, then challenged two or three weeks later with active M hyo organism.

Dr Samuel Thevasagayam, involved with the development of pig vaccines in Europe for Pfizer Animal Health, says that analysis of lung lesion scores revealed significantly less lung damage in vaccinated pigs compared with unvaccinated controls, irrespective of whether they were challenged after two weeks or three weeks.

He says Stellamune Once is safe and effective for use in pigs at one week of age and had already been proven to provide up to 25 weeks' protection against M hyo — effectively covering virtually the entire lifespan of pigs in typical production systems.

"This means that Stellamune Once can be given earlier than any other 1-shot M hyo vaccine and provides long-lasting protection" he says. "In commercial production, the vaccine can be given to pigs well before their first major stress event – weaning.

"In this way, piglets have the stress of vaccination separated from the stress of weaning and are protected against M. hyo effectively for the rest of their lives."

The work follows an extensive field study conducted in Germany by Professor Karl Heinritzi, of Munich University, and reported to the 2005 International Swine Symposium in Barcelona.

This study compared the effect of the single-shot M hyo vaccine Stellamune Once, with a two-shot course of Stellamune Mycoplasma and with non-vaccinated controls. The investigation was carried out on a M hyo infected, farrowing-to-finishing farm using over 1,300 pigs managed using an all-in/all-out system.