Poulvac Bursine 2
ATC code
Species
Chickens (broilers and future layers/breeders).
Indications
For the active immunization of broilers, and future layers/breeders to reduce clinical signs caused by Infectious Bursal Disease virus.
Dose to be administered and administration route
Coarse spray or in drinking water use
Vaccination schedule:
Future layers/breeders:
Administer via drinking water.
One dose to chickens at 7 to 28 days of age. A second vaccination should be administered at 7 to 10 days after the first vaccination.
Broilers:
Administer via spray or drinking water.
One dose to chickens from 1 day of age.
Depending on the level of field virus present, repeat administration of the vaccine may be required at 7 to 10 days after the first vaccination. If not vaccinated at day old, it is recommended to determine the date of first vaccination according to the level of maternally derived antibodies (MDAs).
Nipple-drinking systems are not an appropriate method of vaccine delivery for 1-3 day old chicks.
Reconstitution of vaccine:
Upon reconstitution, light peach to a tan-brownish suspension depending on volume of water added.
Fill a container with an appropriate amount of preferably cold, fresh, nonchlorinated water that is free from metal-ions. Chlorine at levels as low as 1 ppm is known to have a detrimental effect on vaccine virus stability, therefore it’s recommended for drinking water application to add low-fat skimmed milk powder (i.e. < 1% fat, 2–4 grams per litre) or skimmed milk (20–40 ml per litre of water) to the water to prolong the life of the virus in the vaccine suspension. Only skimmed milk should be used, as the fat in whole milk may block the automatic drinking systems as well as reduce vaccine virus efficacy. After mixing, the solution should be allowed to stand for 15–30 minutes before adding the vaccine.
Remove the cap of the vaccine vial. Open the vaccine vial under water and dissolve thoroughly in the container. Empty the vaccine vial completely by rinsing the vial and the stopper in the water.
Administer to birds immediately after dilution.
Avoid exposure of the vaccine suspension to sunlight.
Drinking water:
Make sure that all conduit pipes, tubing, troughs, drinkers etc are thoroughly clean and free of any trace of disinfectants, detergents, soap, etc. Contact with disinfectants makes the vaccine ineffective.
Allow water to be consumed so that levels in drinkers are minimal before vaccine is applied. All tubing should be emptied of plain water, so that the drinkers contain only vaccine water. It may be necessary to withhold water prior to vaccination in order to ensure that all birds drink during the vaccination period. Ideally, vaccine should be administered in the volume of water consumed by the birds in up to 3 hours. The aim is to give every bird one dose of vaccine. As a general rule, apply reconstituted vaccine to chlorine-free and fresh water at the rate of 1,000 doses of the vaccine to 1 litre of water per day of age for 1,000 chickens, e.g. 10 litres would be needed for 1,000 10-day old chickens. If in doubt, measure water intake the day before administering vaccine.
Coarse Spray:
This method is for day old broiler chicks only and may be used in the hatchery or on farm.
Use clean vaccination materials only. No disinfectants or other substances impairing the performance of the live vaccine should be used in the sprayer.
Dilute and administer the reconstituted vaccine at a rate of one dose of reconstituted vaccine per bird, according to the directions of your specific coarse spray vaccination equipment. The recommended volume for 1 dose is between 0.1 and 0.5 ml. The spraying distance should be between 30 and 80 cm above the animals in order to ensure an even distribution and the recommended droplet size is greater than 100 µm.
Turn off ventilation during vaccination.
Ensure that birds are neither overheated nor chilled following coarse spray.
Adverse reactions
Local and/or general reactions after administration of the vaccine can be observed very rarely. Reactions are usually transient.
Poulvac Bursine 2 produces increasing bursal damage on bird to bird passage and this is accompanied by a degree of immunosuppression.
The frequency of adverse reactions is defined using the following convention:
- very common (more than 1 in 10 animals treated displaying adverse reaction(s))
- common (more than 1 but less than 10 animals in 100 animals treated)
- uncommon (more than 1 but less than 10 animals in 1,000 animals treated)
- rare (more than 1 but less than 10 animals in 10,000 animals treated)
- very rare (less than 1 animal in 10,000 animals treated, including isolated reports).