Tetanus question

[mncowboy]

Looking for advice about Tetanus,
I'm wondering if it would work to vaccinate new born bull calves with a Tetanus vaccine at birth when they receive their ear tags in March, April and then booster and band in October when they come home, or if perhaps the first dose will loose its effectivness and the duration would be too long between shots?
Thanks

 

[inyati13]

Tetanus is caused by a toxin (poison) produced by the growth of Clostridium tetani, an anaerobic (lives without air) micro-organism that may be carried into the wounds or sites of surgical operations. It is found in the environment worldwide. There are two tetanus vaccines (1) Tetanus Toxoid, for use to build up protection from the toxin produced by the growth of the bacteria. Administer it in an effort to provide protection. (2) Tetanus Antitoxin, prepared from the blood of healthy horses that have been hyperimmunized with repeated large doses of Clostridium tetani toxin. Administer it when you have an animal that has a wound or puncture.

Your question relates to the use of Tetanus Toxoid. The tetanus toxoid requires 3 to 4 weeks for it to build up an effective protective level. I vaccinate my cattle with the Tetanus Toxoid at the time they are given their second Clostridial vaccination which is at about 5 to 7 months of age or I give it to them when they are in weaning. What I have paid close attention to from reading what Lucky_P (State of KY Veterinarian Pathologist) has stated on these boards, is that he does not vaccinate calves at birth except with the oral vaccines. As I recall, Lucky_P recommends giving the Tetanus Toxoid prior to banding but not at birth. Personally that does not work for me because I band at birth. I have raised that issue with Lucky_P in past threads and he has stated that he has almost never seen tetanus as a result of banding baby calves. In summary, use the Tetanus Toxoid, use it about 3 weeks before you band and I would not use it on a baby calf.

BTW: Booster once a year with the Tetanus Toxoid to keep up an effective level of protection.

 

[wbvs58]

Well put Ron. We use 5in 1 which covers tetanus as well as the clostridial diseases like blackleg etc. With the cows I give them their annual booster about 6 weeks before they start to calve and helps to have reliable antibodies in the colostrum which should protect the calves from tetanus in the first few weeks of life.
Mncowboy the gap between the first and second shot that you want to give the calves is a bit too long between drinks and the booster effect of the second one would be lost and you would have to start again with the two shots 4-6 wks apart.
Ken

 

[Lucky_P]

Ron, you've misremembered some details of my discussions.
I've seen quite a few cases of tetanus in baby calves, banded at birth. I'd hazard a guess that it's a miniscule number of affected animals when you consider the vast numbers of calves banded in any given year. Most cases I've been involved with in baby calves have just been a single animal affected, but I've seen losses of 10-25 or more in groups of larger bulls banded at 400-800 lbs - some not vaccinated at all, some receiving TT at the time of band application.
Prior to a recent case I'll discuss later, the only case of tetanus I've had in my own herd was in a 400lb bull that I knife-cut, back when I was still in veterinary school. Found him 'sawhorsed' out in the pasture about 2 weeks later.

I'm in agreement with Ken - I wouldn't 'count on' a single tetanus toxoid given months before potential insult being protective. It might be, it might not.
If you look at the label directions, they call for an initial dose, followed by a booster at 3-4 weeks(timing may vary by manufacturer) - and they don't recommend that booster just in order to sell more vaccine; the trials that they had to conduct in order to gain licensure of the product indicated that the booster, given within the timeframe indicated, was necessary in order to achieve protection against challenge or a significant antibody level. With many biologics, we know that if you don't follow label instructions properly, then the initial dose is virtually ineffective, and for all intents, 'wasted'. You really need that anamnestic response that the booster is intended to provide.

In a perfect world, you'd give an initial dose 2-4 weeks prior to banding/castration/dehorning, then booster at or shortly before performing the procedure which might pose a potential risk.
If the cow herd is adequately vaccinated and boostered yearly with a product containing TT, it's conceivable that colostral antibodies *might* protect baby calves banded at birth.

I've not routinely vaccinated against tetanus in my herd - haven't had to remove but 2 or 3 sets of horns in the past 30 years, and I castrate my steers with a Burdizzo emasculatome. However, I'm reconsidering my vaccination protocol - we lost a nice 3-month old heifer to tetanus just a couple of weeks back - didn't notice anything abnormal about her 'til one of the cows tossed her while they were eating grain, and the calf couldn't get up. My first thought, from her appearance was 'tetanus' - but my wife saw her get tossed, and we were convinced it was an injury (red herring!) - but after about 3 days of working with her, I finally convinced myself that she was, indeed, a tetanus case. Couldn't pull her through, despite TAT, antibiotics, sedation.
Still have no idea what or where this heifer's initial injury/wound was; I didn't do a necropsy exam, as I was certain of my diagnosis, and in my hands, tetanus is a clinical diagnosis, not one that's readily confirmed in the laboratory.

So...mncowboy, I'd certainly recommend giving the initial vaccine at birth - but consider boostering in 3-4 weeks. Or, if the booster in that timeframe is not possible, you could give both TT and TAT at the time of band application, then booster the TT according to label directions. TAT will give some 'immediate' protection - and you can give both TT and TAT at the same time (just not in the same site!).

 

[cross_7]

Tetanus is caused by a toxin (poison) produced by the growth of Clostridium tetani, an anaerobic (lives without air) micro-organism that may be carried into the wounds or sites of surgical operations. It is found in the environment worldwide. There are two tetanus vaccines (1) Tetanus Toxoid, for use to build up protection from the toxin produced by the growth of the bacteria. Administer it in an effort to provide protection. (2) Tetanus Antitoxin, prepared from the blood of healthy horses that have been hyperimmunized with repeated large doses of Clostridium tetani toxin. Administer it when you have an animal that has a wound or puncture.

Your question relates to the use of Tetanus Toxoid. The tetanus toxoid requires 3 to 4 weeks for it to build up an effective protective level. I vaccinate my cattle with the Tetanus Toxoid at the time they are given their second Clostridial vaccination which is at about 5 to 7 months of age or I give it to them when they are in weaning. What I have paid close attention to from reading what Lucky_P (State of KY Veterinarian Pathologist) has stated on these boards, is that he does not vaccinate calves at birth except with the oral vaccines. As I recall, Lucky_P recommends giving the Tetanus Toxoid prior to banding but not at birth. Personally that does not work for me because I band at birth. I have raised that issue with Lucky_P in past threads and he has stated that he has almost never seen tetanus as a result of banding baby calves. In summary, use the Tetanus Toxoid, use it about 3 weeks before you band and I would not use it on a baby calf.

BTW: Booster once a year with the Tetanus Toxoid to keep up an effective level of protection.

I'm just a dumb country bumpkin but I'm going to disagree on something
As you stated it takes a couple weeks the tetanus immunities to build up after administering the tetanus toxoid vaccine
So banding at the time of vaccine or without the vaccine you are gambling
I remember Lucky_p stating that a baby calf immunity bottoms out around 5-7 days leaving them susceptible to infection
So banding at birth without any protection is too much a risky for me
If you are going to band at birth I would give a tetanus antitoxin so they much atleast have some defense and I'd probably give the toxoid vaccine at that time as well, so to try and build up some immunities

 

[cross_7]

Sorry Luck_p I guess we were typing at the same time disregard what I said

 

[inyati13]

Lucky, you and Cross are saying about the same thing. Giving the TAT when banding at birth or the first 10 days post-partum is not an approach that I personally would subscribe to. There is not going to be open tissue for at least a few weeks or perhaps not at all. In the calves I have banded at birth, I do not see an exposed opening until considerable time after banding and often times not then. I could see more potential in a larger calf as you say 400 or 500 pounds. I have recovered a few of the dried scrotal sacs from calves I have banded at birth or shortly after. I rarely see any fresh tissue exposed. It is usually dried. Nevertheless, I would hate to lose one. I will recosider my protocols to include giving the TT at the time of banding and boostering in 3 to 4 weeks. Having said that, the risk seems low unless there is a much greater frequency of open tissue than what I have observed when they are banded at such a young age. My current protocol is probably not tight, by the time the band is at the point where there might be an exposed wound, some of my calves have not received the TT. Thanks.

 

[cross_7]

Lucky, you and Cross are saying about the same thing. Giving the TAT when banding at birth or the first 10 days post-partum is not an approach that I personally would subscribe to. There is not going to be open tissue for at least a few weeks or perhaps not at all. In the calves I have banded at birth, I do not see an exposed opening until considerable time after banding and often times not then. In fact, as you say the frequency of tetanus due to banding at birth or within the first 10 days post-partum is low compared to banding at say 400 pounds. I have recovered a few of the dried scrotal sacs from calves I have banded at birth or shortly after. In fact, I rarely see any fresh tissue exposed. It is usually dried. Nevertheless, I would hate to lose one. I will recosider my protocols to include giving the TT at the time of banding and boostering in 3 to 4 weeks. Having said that, I just cannot immagine the risk unless there is a much greater frequency of open tissue than what I have observed when they are banded at such a young age.

The tetanus antitoxin will give protection for about 7-14 days, the tetanus toxoid takes a few weeks to build immunities, so that would be the protocol I'd go with, but I wouldn't chance it, I wouldn't band at birth, I was just stating what I would do
I feel like I get a little more growth leaving them intact and I prefer to cut them t about 300#. I also don't like to stress a baby calf.

 

[inyati13]

Lucky, you and Cross are saying about the same thing. Giving the TAT when banding at birth or the first 10 days post-partum is not an approach that I personally would subscribe to. There is not going to be open tissue for at least a few weeks or perhaps not at all. In the calves I have banded at birth, I do not see an exposed opening until considerable time after banding and often times not then. In fact, as you say the frequency of tetanus due to banding at birth or within the first 10 days post-partum is low compared to banding at say 400 pounds. I have recovered a few of the dried scrotal sacs from calves I have banded at birth or shortly after. In fact, I rarely see any fresh tissue exposed. It is usually dried. Nevertheless, I would hate to lose one. I will recosider my protocols to include giving the TT at the time of banding and boostering in 3 to 4 weeks. Having said that, I just cannot immagine the risk unless there is a much greater frequency of open tissue than what I have observed when they are banded at such a young age.

The tetanus antitoxin will give protection for about 7-14 days, the tetanus toxoid takes a few weeks to build immunities, so that would be the protocol I'd go with, but I wouldn't chance it, I wouldn't band at birth, I was just stating what I would do
I feel like I get a little more growth leaving them intact and I prefer to cut them t about 300#. I also don't like to stress a baby calf.

Cross, that is why I band at birth. I was told not on here but by the company I have acquired most of my stock from and they are are in the big leagues, that banding at birth is the least stressful way to make steers. So there you go. Everyone tells you something different.

 

[cross_7]

Lucky, you and Cross are saying about the same thing. Giving the TAT when banding at birth or the first 10 days post-partum is not an approach that I personally would subscribe to. There is not going to be open tissue for at least a few weeks or perhaps not at all. In the calves I have banded at birth, I do not see an exposed opening until considerable time after banding and often times not then. In fact, as you say the frequency of tetanus due to banding at birth or within the first 10 days post-partum is low compared to banding at say 400 pounds. I have recovered a few of the dried scrotal sacs from calves I have banded at birth or shortly after. In fact, I rarely see any fresh tissue exposed. It is usually dried. Nevertheless, I would hate to lose one. I will recosider my protocols to include giving the TT at the time of banding and boostering in 3 to 4 weeks. Having said that, I just cannot immagine the risk unless there is a much greater frequency of open tissue than what I have observed when they are banded at such a young age.

The tetanus antitoxin will give protection for about 7-14 days, the tetanus toxoid takes a few weeks to build immunities, so that would be the protocol I'd go with, but I wouldn't chance it, I wouldn't band at birth, I was just stating what I would do
I feel like I get a little more growth leaving them intact and I prefer to cut them t about 300#. I also don't like to stress a baby calf.

Cross, that is why I band at birth. I was told not on here but by the company I have acquired most of my stock from and thay are internationally known, that banding at birth is the least stressful way to make steers. So there you go. Everyone tells you something different.

Everyone has a different opinion
For me in my situation in a pasture environment the cow wouldn't allow me to get to the calf
I have, do and will again band, but I think it is much easier on the calf to knife cut, most times within minutes they are right back to normal after being cut and never miss a beat.
I have had banded calves that seem to really be sore for along time.
If I were in your situation it would be different, but I would take every precaution

 

[inyati13]

Lucky, you and Cross are saying about the same thing. Giving the TAT when banding at birth or the first 10 days post-partum is not an approach that I personally would subscribe to. There is not going to be open tissue for at least a few weeks or perhaps not at all. In the calves I have banded at birth, I do not see an exposed opening until considerable time after banding and often times not then. In fact, as you say the frequency of tetanus due to banding at birth or within the first 10 days post-partum is low compared to banding at say 400 pounds. I have recovered a few of the dried scrotal sacs from calves I have banded at birth or shortly after. In fact, I rarely see any fresh tissue exposed. It is usually dried. Nevertheless, I would hate to lose one. I will recosider my protocols to include giving the TT at the time of banding and boostering in 3 to 4 weeks. Having said that, I just cannot immagine the risk unless there is a much greater frequency of open tissue than what I have observed when they are banded at such a young age.

The tetanus antitoxin will give protection for about 7-14 days, the tetanus toxoid takes a few weeks to build immunities, so that would be the protocol I'd go with, but I wouldn't chance it, I wouldn't band at birth, I was just stating what I would do
I feel like I get a little more growth leaving them intact and I prefer to cut them t about 300#. I also don't like to stress a baby calf.

Everyone has a different opinion
For me in my situation in a pasture environment the cow wouldn't allow me to get to the calf
I have, do and will again band, but I think it is much easier on the calf to knife cut, most times within minutes they are right back to normal after being cut and never miss a beat.
I have had banded calves that seem to really be sore for along time.
If I were in your situation it would be different, but I would take every precaution

Cross, thanks. I appreciate your help.

 

[branguscowgirl]

Thanks for all the good information! I personally have seen 2 calves <200# with Tetanus after banding. (Not mine.) I think that environment is a huge factor........

 

[inyati13]

Thanks for all the good information! I personally have seen 2 calves <200# with Tetanus after banding. (Not mine.) I think that environment is a huge factor........

Are you the green-eyed cowgirl? I had that thought too regarding the role of the environment. Regardless of that thought, I still think Lucky and Cross are correct to error on the side of caution. All the Clostridial species are tough rod shaped bacteria that form endospores. Even in a clean environment, they are so ubiquitous they could be hanging on the hairs around the scrotum just waiting. I do believe because my cows calve on clean gravel in 3 out of 4 cases, that I eliminate the risk of many infectious pathogens. I don't see a significant pathway for tetanus in properly banded baby calves in my operation. But I am going to tighten up my schedule for the first TT vaccination.

My greatest concern for a case of tetanus is having a cow sustain a cut or puncture wound that goes unnoticed and results in tetanus. That is why all my mature cattle are vaccinated and boostered once a year.