How can we minimize vaccination stress?

In a PRRS unstable situation, there are occasional outbreaks of late abortions. So, we would like to remove other vaccines before farrowing to minimize the vaccination stress on sows. How can we minimize vaccination stress? Are there any tips to select vaccines with lower vaccination stress?

Vaccinating gestating sows during last third of gestation it is always a compromise.

When vaccination is done in a PRRS unstable herd it is often one of the reasons for the virus spreading among sows, especially when the needle is not changed for every sow.

Therefore, using a needle free device or changing the needle for each sow would be recommended. The main objective of this recommendation is not just to reduce abortions, but even more importantly, to avoid virus circulation, helping achieve a stable PRRS status.

But sometimes vaccination can produce abortions even without the presence of PRRS virus. Vaccinations are stressful for the sows and this why any measure to reduce stress will help in reducing abortions.

Some recommendations that can help in reducing stress during vaccination include:

• Vaccinate while sows are distracted with some other event, for example eating time.
• Vaccinate calmly and slowly.
• Use narrow and new needles to do so, as they are less painful for the sows.
• If there is the possibility choosing water-based type of vaccines, we will reduce secondary effects.
• When oil-based products have to be used, it may be advisable to warm up the bottles (up to 30-34 degrees) before administering the products. This will reduce vaccine reactivity.
• Giving an antipyretic at the time of vaccination can also help in reducing secondary effects.

Stopping vaccine use obviously solves the problem of vaccinating sows in late gestation, but it will only be possible in those cases where the diseases covered by the vaccines used are no longer a health risk for the sows, and this can vary from case to case.

If you want to know more about the advantages of needle-free administration, transmission within herds, read out chapters and publications: “Routes of administration: Intramuscular versus intradermal” and “Transmission within herds”

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