Food Animal Matters.

This column is a communications tool for food animal production and related issues. It is expected to fill an important gap, as much of the narrative regarding food animal agriculture and food animal veterinary practice is not written by food animal veterinarians. This column will be a regular feature of The CVJ, coordinated by Dr. Robert Tremblay and intended to inform food animal veterinarians and others who want to understand more about the day-to-day professional activities of food animal veterinarians. Recently retired, Dr. Tremblay spent 40 y in professional life working in large animal veterinary medicine. For most of that time, his primary interest was food animal medicine. Dr. Tremblay takes great satisfaction in having been involved in food animal veterinary medicine. He is grateful to have worked with dedicated food animal veterinarians, farmers, and ranchers in Canada and beyond. Tim Ogilvie John Kastelic.

Efficacy of needle-free injection on antibody production against Clostridium chauvoei in beef calves under field conditions.

This study compared needle-free and needle-based injection devices for vaccination of calves against Clostridium chauvoei in warm and cold conditions. Both devices elicited comparable antibody responses in calves. Needle-free injection devices can be used to vaccinate calves provided appropriate precautions are taken in cold weather.

Efficacité de l'injection sans seringue sur la production d'anticorps contreClostridium chauvoeichez les veaux de boucherie dans des conditions sur le terrain. Cette étude a comparé les dispositifs à injection sans seringue et avec seringue pour la vaccination des veaux contre Clostridium chauvoei dans des conditions par temps chaud et froid. Les deux dispositifs ont provoqué des réponses comparables des anticorps chez les veaux. Des dispositifs d'injection sans seringue peuvent être utilisés pour vacciner les veaux pourvu que des précautions appropriées soient prises par temps froid.(Traduit par Isabelle Vallières).

Evaluation of the effects of treating dairy cows with meloxicam at calving on retained fetal membranes risk.

Some non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs increase the risk of retained fetal membranes. This is the first study to investigate the effects of meloxicam on the risk of retained fetal membranes. Administration of meloxicam to dairy cattle immediately following calving revealed no differences in the incidence of retained fetal membranes between meloxicam-treated and untreated animals. There was no difference between the 2 groups in the incidence of periparturient diseases following calving. Meloxicam can be used on the day of calving in lactating cows without increasing the risk of retained fetal membranes.

L'évaluation des effets d'une injection de méloxicam immédiatement après le vêlage chez la vache laitière sur le risque de rétention des membranes foetales. Certains médicaments inflammatoires non-stéroïdiens augmentent le risque de rétention de membranes fœtales. Cette étude est la première à examiner les effets du méloxicam quant au risque de rétention de membranes fœtales. Aucune différence n'a été notée dans le cas de rétention de membranes fœtales lors du vêlage chez la vache laitière entre les vaches qui ont reçu une injection de méloxicam immédiatement après le vêlage et celles qui n'ont rien reçu. De plus, il n'y avait aucune différence d'incidence de maladies périnatales observées suite au vêlage entre les deux groupes. On peut donc administrer du méloxicam aux vaches laitières le jour du vêlage sans augmenter le risque de rétention de membranes fœtales.(Traduit par les auteurs).

A study of the effectiveness of a needle-free injection device compared with a needle and syringe used to vaccinate calves against bovine viral diarrhea and infectious bovine rhinotracheitis viruses.

The aim of this study was to compare the effectiveness of a needle-free injection device (NF) with a needle and syringe (NS) when used to vaccinate calves against bovine viral diarrhea virus (BVDV) and infectious bovine rhinotracheitis virus (IBRV). The study was conducted in two independent phases. Ninety-six crossbred beef calves were vaccinated in the spring and 98 beef calves in the autumn. The calves were vaccinated using a NF or NS at 2 months of age (day 0) and again on day 119, with a modified-live virus vaccine containing IBRV, BVDV (types 1 and 2), parainfluenza-3 virus, and bovine respiratory syncytial virus. In each herd 10 calves were left unvaccinated to determine whether exposure to either BVDV or IBRV occurred. Visible vaccine residue at the surface of the skin/hair was apparent immediately following vaccination with NF in 30% of the spring-born calves following both the primary and booster vaccination. In the autumn, visible vaccine residues occurred in 19% and 8% of NF-vaccinated calves following the primary and booster vaccination. Post-vaccination skin reactions recorded on days 21, 42, 119 and 140 occurred with greater frequency in NF-vaccinated calves than NS-vaccinated ones. Blood samples were collected on days 0, 21, 42, 119, and 140 and tested for antibodies to BVDV and IBRV. Vaccination technique had no significant effect on BVDV or IBRV antibody concentrations at any time point. NF was as effective as NS vaccination in eliciting BVDV and IBRV antibody responses.