Any good stool is firmly held by three pillars, each one equally withholding weight. Believe it or not, preventing pinkeye is no different. There are three key aspects to keep in mind in order to ensure that pinkeye will not leave damaging effects on your herd. These aspects are vaccination, fly control and environmental factors.
By administering the MORAXELLA BOVOCULI BACTERIN vaccine, from the Merck Animal Health line, 3-6 weeks prior to the beginning of pinkeye season, such as early summer as well as winter, you can defend your herd against 8 different strains of Moraxella bovoculi.
MORAXELLA BOVOCULI BACTERIN is commercially available as well as a conditionally licensed product, providing a variety of options in order to give you Merck Animal Health products fast and easy. It is also recommended to pair this vaccine with either the Merck Animal Health VISION or PILIGUARD M. bovis vaccine in order to create the most comprehensive pinkeye protection program for your cattle.
The pinkeye line of vaccines from Merck Animal Health such as PILIGUARD Pinkeye 7, PILIGUARD Pinkeye-1 Trivalent and 20/20 VISION 7, offering products that fit all needs. After administering MORAXELLA BOVOCULI BACTERIN, it is recommended to administer another booster shot within 21 days after initial dose in order to achieve prime vaccine responses.
Merck Animal Health also offers a long line of fly control products that pair with pinkeye vaccines to create a strong shield against pinkeye. Face flies play an instrumental role in spreading pinkeye, acting as a vector as flies land on cattle’s faces throughout the day. Without controlling external parasites, an increase in flies then leads to an increase in pinkeye cases.
This issue can be handled through either premise spray products or fly tags, such as ULTRA BOSS POUR ON, GRENADE PREMISE PROTECTION, DOUBLE BARREL VP INSECTICIDE EAR TAGS, SABER INSECTICIDE EAR TAGS or DOMINATOR INSECTICIDE EAR TAGS. Each administration route provides its own unique benefits.
For instance all ear tag products from Merck Animal Health provide economic horn fly control for up to 20 weeks when following 5-step horn fly control program and directions on each product label. Ear tags are also beneficial in areas with dry, dusty climates, ensuring fly control no matter the conditions.
Routes of administration vary with these products, certain products should be applied directly to livestock such as ULTRA BOSS, while other products, for instance GRENADE, can be applied to cattle equipment.
Management of environmental factors outside of pharmaceutical products is the final step in creating a strong pinkeye protection program. While this may be a more challenging aspect in managing pinkeye, it is still an important piece of maintaining a sound program.
Factors that increase cattle’s chances of pinkeye include pollen, dry or hot weather, UV radiation and weeds or grasses tall enough to cause irritation in cattle’s eyes.
These are all facets that are hard to overcome during the summer, but there are a few management pieces that may limit these issues. Some ideas include spraying herbicide on tall weeds, ensuring cattle have shade to avoid hot and dry climates and ensuring cattle have plenty of space to avoid flies crowding. These may be aspects that are more difficult to accommodate, but a stool is only as sturdy as its weakest leg.
It has been proven time and time again that pinkeye can lead to devastating effects, not only to your herd’s health, but great economic losses as well. Pinkeye has been deemed as the number one issue facing unweaned cattle, with scours a close second behind. Each year, an estimated $150 million dollars are lost due to pinkeye and leads to a decrease in performance and overall health in cattle. Infected cattle also require additional treatment, leading to added costs in pharmaceuticals, time and energy to vaccinate cattle. However, pinkeye is not limited only to calves; pinkeye is also the number one disorder in breeding females.
An Iowa State University study showed that calves infected with pinkeye in one eye on average weighed 30 lbs less than calves uninfected at weaning weights. Calves with both eyes infected? These calves lost as much as 60 lbs. This is why it is vital to take all precautions when it comes to battling pink eye.
These three pillars: vaccination, fly control and environmental factors, combine together to create a strong program to fight pinkeye. By keeping these three factors in mind, you can best protect your herd against pinkeye this summer.