April 2008 Archives

By: Dr. Glennon Mays

But when veterinarians and producers are processing cattle (or other species) involving administration of vaccines or biologicals, it's important to remember these products require constant chilling to preserve their integrity and effectiveness. It's critical to have an insulated box or cooler at the work site conveniently located close to the work but protected from the ongoing physical activity avoiding disruption of the cooling effectiveness. Ice packs or even bagged wet ice should be placed on the top of product in the cooler for most effective protection from warming temperature. I sometimes carry an extra cooler to place bottles of vaccine being used leaving the "stock" supply in another cooler so as to not interrupt the temperature of the reserve bottles by opening/closing the cooler each time doses are removed from the bottles in use. Another thing I have found helpful especially during hot summer months is to have yet another cooler with reserve ice or cold pack supply, especially if the workday is long and away from "home base". One additional idea to pass along is to not wrap the ice packs in material such as newspaper as this effectively insulates the cold next to the pack reducing the ability for the cold to escape to the bottles of product. Lastly, if using biologicals requiring reconstitution prior to administration, avoid the mixing of product prematurely. I understand we all have a tendency to get everything ready to prevent interruption of the work process. However, if the reconstituted product is sitting in the cooler (even if adequately chilled) for a couple of hours or longer, the product will possibly have deteriorated before it's given to the animal. Although timely processing is essential in reducing stress on livestock, the administration of ineffective vaccines and biologicals is counter productive as well.

Questions about this article can be sent to adement@cvm.tamu.edu