MLV- question

[milkmaid]

Say you have a modified live virus vaccine (like Bovishield Gold 5-way) and you only need 2 doses out of a 10 dose vial - if you stuff the vial in the freezer after taking what you need, will it be good later? I know what the label says - use entire contents when first opened - and that I've always been told if it isn't used within about 3 hours after mixing, that it's no good.

But...sometimes you can freeze drugs (like Naxcel; after it's mixed it has to be frozen) and sometimes you can't. Where does a MLV fall on that scale?

And if it CAN'T be frozen...why? I was thinking about it, and if the problem is that the IBR/BVD and lepto die after the two vials are mixed in a MLV, well, doesn't that make it kind of like a killed vaccine? or is it not that simple? :lol: My vet wasn't exactly sure...as he joked (due to the weather in our area)..."viruses are hard to kill. If they could be killed by freezing we wouldn't have any viruses in Idaho." :lol:

Comments?
Thanks-

 

[Vicky the vet]

To be honest, they've done testing on this and depending on a heck of a lot of factors, it can work or be completely useless once frozen. The temperature and stability at freezing, the time of freezing after mixing, the speed of freezing and thawing etc. If all is perfect, it can work but logistically, you'll have diminished efficacy at best. Better to buy smaller vials or be prepared to toss the extra.

 

[Bez!]

Say you have a modified live virus vaccine (like Bovishield Gold 5-way) and you only need 2 doses out of a 10 dose vial - if you stuff the vial in the freezer after taking what you need, will it be good later? I know what the label says - use entire contents when first opened - and that I've always been told if it isn't used within about 3 hours after mixing, that it's no good.

But...sometimes you can freeze drugs (like Naxcel; after it's mixed it has to be frozen) and sometimes you can't. Where does a MLV fall on that scale?

And if it CAN'T be frozen...why? I was thinking about it, and if the problem is that the IBR/BVD and lepto die after the two vials are mixed in a MLV, well, doesn't that make it kind of like a killed vaccine? or is it not that simple? :lol: My vet wasn't exactly sure...as he joked (due to the weather in our area)..."viruses are hard to kill. If they could be killed by freezing we wouldn't have any viruses in Idaho." :lol:

Comments?
Thanks-

We tend to use it all up - planning ahead.

However, sometimes that just does not work - and we simply eat the cost.

Life.

Bez!

 

[Jeanne - Simme Valley]

Thanks for the reply V-V. I was sitting reading Milkmaids question & was going to answer that it wasn't worth the risk - but I did wonder if it could work.
She always has well thought questions.

 

[milkmaid]

Thanks for the responses...I suppose I should just toss it when I'm done, based on that. I've got two 350lb calves to vaccinate, vet coming tomorrow for a preg check on a new cow, if she's open she'll get vaccinated too. That uses up 3 out of 10 doses. :lol: :|

One more question along the same lines. If you have an open cow running with a herd of open and bred cows, and none of them vaccinated/properly, is it safe to use a MLV on an open cow in that situation? (Long story...)

What about if the answer to the above question is no, and you were to give all the bred cows a killed vaccine for the same viruses as what your MLV is going to be, how long would you wait between vaccinating bred cows with a killed virus, and vaccinating open cows with the live one? How long does it take for a cow to have enough immunity?

 

[Jeanne - Simme Valley]

I asked Pfizer rep same question. Safe to vaccinate the one cow in group of pregs - but all my pregs had been vaccinated as opens within 12 months of this timing.
Can't really answer. While you have the vaccine, I would vaccinate all opens including calves over 3 months old - that are not sucking cows that have not been vaccinated with MLV. Don't really think you can vaccinate pregs with killed - than safe to use MLV. I wouldn't try it.
Buy BS in 5 dose bottles. Don't throw away as much, but it's still cheaper than killed.

 

[milkmaid]

Does it come in 5 dose? That sure would be nice. I was planning to use the Bovishield Gold FP 5 VL5 as the MLV...covers 'bout everything. LOL. And something like Virashield 5 VL5 for the killed vaccine.

Plan would be: first day, vaccinate bred cows with killed vaccine.
2-3 weeks later, repeat killed vaccine on bred cows.
Same day the bred cows are given their booster of killed vacc, open cows are given a MLV.
2-3 weeks after that, open cows get a repeat of the MLV.
The expected result would be that all cows get vaccinated, and the bred cows are protected by the time you start giving a live vaccine to the open cows. How's that sound; good idea... or not?

 

[jkwilson]

Does it come in 5 dose?

Yes, it does come in a 5 dose package.

 

[RAWCJW]

I have a killed vaccine Master guard 10 it mixes and says use immediately, also to repeat in 14 days. Does it stay good that long mixed?

 

[Texan]

I have a killed vaccine Master guard 10 it mixes and says use immediately, also to repeat in 14 days. Does it stay good that long mixed?

Follow the label instructions. If I have to reconstitute a vaccine, I continue to keep it cool, keep it out of the sun, and I try to use it within an hour or throw it away.

 

[Jeanne - Simme Valley]

I have a killed vaccine Master guard 10 it mixes and says use immediately, also to repeat in 14 days. Does it stay good that long mixed?

NO - read the label - it will say throw away any unused portion. As stated, it will only be good for about 1 hour after mixing.
Milkmaid, your approach sounds good. But, I would recommend Cattlemaster by Pfizer for your pregs. It is a form of MLV but is safe for pregs.
And yes, they both come in 5 dose bottles.

 

[milkmaid]

Milkmaid, your approach sounds good. But, I would recommend Cattlemaster by Pfizer for your pregs. It is a form of MLV but is safe for pregs.
And yes, they both come in 5 dose bottles.

Thanks Jeanne. I'm not very familiar with Cattlemaster. I glanced at the website and it appears to cover the standard things - BVD, IBR, PI3, BRSV, 5 strains of lepto, vibrio - what makes it preferable over something like Virashield? I also thought Bovishield was the only MLV safe for use in pregnant cows (when vacc per label directions), but Cattlemaster does appear to be a MLV.

Biggest problem I'm coming up with, is that...if the bred cows get 2 doses of one vaccine, and the open cows get 2 doses of another brand of vaccine, then if I wanted all the cows on the same schedule with the same vaccine (the MLV), the bred cows would have to get two doses of the MLV at some later date, the initial and the the booster - surely there is a better and more economical way?

 

[Jeanne - Simme Valley]

Milkmaid, your approach sounds good. But, I would recommend Cattlemaster by Pfizer for your pregs. It is a form of MLV but is safe for pregs.
And yes, they both come in 5 dose bottles.

Thanks Jeanne. I'm not very familiar with Cattlemaster. I glanced at the website and it appears to cover the standard things - BVD, IBR, PI3, BRSV, 5 strains of lepto, vibrio - what makes it preferable over something like Virashield? I also thought Bovishield was the only MLV safe for use in pregnant cows (when vacc per label directions), but Cattlemaster does appear to be a MLV.

Biggest problem I'm coming up with, is that...if the bred cows get 2 doses of one vaccine, and the open cows get 2 doses of another brand of vaccine, then if I wanted all the cows on the same schedule with the same vaccine (the MLV), the bred cows would have to get two doses of the MLV at some later date, the initial and the the booster - surely there is a better and more economical way?

Cattlemaster by Pfizer has been around quite a long time. It is kind of "in between" a MLV & a killed. It IS a form of MLV, but it IS safe for pregs & nursing calves, just not quite as good as the BS.
The only reason you need a booster on the BoviShield is for the BRSV. So if you are giving the BRSV in the CM with a booster, you are good to go for the next time around - won't need the booster on the ones that got the two Cattlemasters.
So first time around you will give two doses of CM to pregs, and 1 Dose of BS 5L5 to opens with a booster of BS BRSV. Next time all cattle will get their 1 shot of BS5L5 (or whatever the current name of it is) while they are open (or within 12 months can be given while they are pregnant). I like to give it to them at least 2 weeks prior to breeding. and then all your calves are safe to get it at anytime after they are 3 months old.