Vets, poultry farmers cautioned on vaccine storage

Part of the ways by which birds are cared for by farmers is giving them the required and appropriate medication to keep them fit for egg production or eating as a source of meat.Birds’ medication is part of the challenge in poultry farming because lack of drugs usually leads to their mortality. Mortality is caused […]

Part of the ways by which birds are cared for by farmers is giving them the required and appropriate medication to keep them fit for egg production or eating as a source of meat.
Birds’ medication is part of the challenge in poultry farming because lack of drugs usually leads to their mortality. Mortality is caused by various kinds of diseases that attack the birds.
A veterinary doctor at Rhyss Farm, Dr. Festus Anifalaje, said vaccinating birds is important to put them in proper health condition, adding that conscious farmers spend a lot on birds medications such as antibiotics, vitamins and anti-stress having realised reasons for these birds to stay healthy.
He said, sometimes, it is discovered that when birds are vaccinated there may be vaccination failure that could lead to re-vaccination of the birds, saying though birds’ vaccines are available in Nigeria, most farmers will prefer to use foreign medications.
He said the vaccines produced at the National Veterinary Research Institute in Vom, near Jos, are effective just like the imported ones.
Anifalaje said : “The imported vaccines are costlier than local vaccines and both of them are good. Both of them can develop fault. The fault may be from the storage because when vaccines are produced, you find them in good condition. There is what we call “cold chain” in veterinary practice. When vaccines are produced they are like biological living organism such bacterial and virus put in a form that will not be injurious, very pathogenic or harmful to the birds.”
The doctor said the vaccines are administered on birds to stimulate them to produce anti-body against diseases so that when natural infections come or attack them, they will be able to fight it back.
He cautioned that the vaccines should be properly stored to avoid contamination which could lead to its failure, adding: “But during storage the vaccines should be kept in refridgerators and if there is problem, may be due to lack of power supply or undue exposure, the vaccines can lose its power or its potency. When farmers buy they may not know unless the vaccines are subjected to laboratory test or analysis.
“Even the vet doctors may not know and those are part of the problems in poultry production. Farmers will just buy vaccines but if there are professionals in the farm, when you vaccinate, you monitor the birds’ response and reactions and if there are mortalities then, you can know there is a problem, especially if the rate is more than one or two per day. In that case the farm owner should seek laboratory assistance.”