VIRACARE 3 vaccine

Made In New Zealand & Spain
Ancare Merial New Zealand Product.

A practical approach to the control of viral diseases of cattle, VIRACARE 3 combines three vaccines in one convenient treatment.  This gives greater insurance against future economic loss, particularly in high producing dairy herds and replacements.  The viral diseases for which VIRACARE 3 has label indications include:

1.        BVD virus (bovine viral diarrhoea and mucosal disease) - This condition often causes reproductive and productivity problems, including infertility, abortion, congenital malformation, birth of weakened calves and persistent infection.  BVD also often causes acute and chronic mucosal diseases effecting the alimentary system.
2.        Bovine herpes virus (infectious bovine rhinotracheitis and infectious pustular vulvovaginitis) - The majority of cattle in New Zealand are seropositive to bovine herpes virus. Clinical syndromes affect the respiratory tract (infectious bovine rhinotracheitis) and the reproductive tract (infectious pustular vulvovaginitis).
3.        Parainfluenza 3 virus - Parainfluenza has also been included in the vaccine as an aid in controlling this infection that is often associated with infectious bovine rhinotracheitis.

COMPOSITION:

VIRACARE 3 is an inactivated 'trivalent' vaccine manufactured in Europe.  It incorporates U.S.- sourced and internationally-recognised strains of Parainfluenza 3 (PI3), Infectious Bovine Rhinotracheitis/Infectious pustular vulvovaginitis (IBR/IPV) and Bovine Viral Diarrhoea Virus (BVDV) combined with an aluminium hydroxide and saponine adjuvant.  This gives VIRACARE 3 high specificity and antigen activity.

VIRACARE 3 has been tested for safety and efficacy in a large number of animals and has been marketed internationally in Europe and Asia for some years.  It has been manufactured using selected, purified and concentrated viral strains.  Once inactivated, they are emulsified with the adjuvant in order to obtain an immunogenic and innocuous product.

BVDV Isolate contained in VIRACARE 3:

There are a number of different viral strains used in commercially-available BVDV vaccines.  These include the NADL (National Animal Disease Laboratory), Singer and New York  strains - all originating in the United States.  VIRACARE 3 utilises a cytopathic NADL strain which has been demonstrated to induce a strong immune response against other BVDV strains, including New Zealand (NZC and NZNC) strains.

EFFICACY:

Efficacy trials have been performed by artificial challenge and under natural conditions:

Artificial Challenge:  Two groups, each of ten animals, were formed from 2-month old calves.   Five calves from each group were vaccinated with 3ml of vaccine intramuscularly and re-vaccinated with 3ml, 21 days later.   The other five animals in each group remained as controls.   Forty-two days after the first vaccination all calves were challenged, depending on group, with IBR or BVD virus.  

Calves were observed for 21 days after challenge.   Clinical symptoms after infection were significant in control calves whereas they were very mild or non-existent in vaccinated calves.   Significant antibody levels were recorded in all treated calves.

Natural Challenge:  Trial 1.   Forty-five calves received VIRACARE 3 vaccination on a farm where the previous 38 animals had a 20% incidence of respiratory disease.   The incidence in treated animals was eliminated over 6 months. No side effects were noted. All treated animals had significant antibody levels.

Trial 2.   On a property with a history of respiratory disease 560 new calves were vaccinated with Viracare 3. Another 150 calves were maintained as controls.  Twenty eight days after arriving on the property 7 losses occurred in the control group due to respiratory disease. After an outbreak of acute respiratory disease at Day 85, further loss of  7 control calves occurred.   In the treated animals group, only three deaths occurred as a result of an outbreak of respiratory disease at Day 70.   Treated animals had significant antibodies to all three viruses.

A further three trials have been conducted involving 915 treatments on problem farms.   All resulted in similar antibody levels with minimal adverse reactions.

VIRACARE 3 Indications

Calves:  Control of respiratory conditions produced by IBR virus (Infectious Bovine Rhinotracheitis), PI3 virus (Parainfluenza-3) and BVD (Bovine Viral Diarrhoea).
Cows:  Control of reproductive conditions produced by IBR/IPV virus (Infectious Bovine Rhinotracheitis/Infectious Pustular Vulvovaginitis) and BVD Virus.