Zoetis’ one shot bivalent vaccine, Suvaxyn Circo+MH RTU, has been proven to offer lifetime cover for finishing pigs for both porcine circovirus type 2 (PCV2) and Mycoplasma hyopneumoniae (M. hyo).
The vaccine was launched with a duration of immunity (DOI) of 16 weeks for M. hyo, after one of the original registration studies for efficacy was disrupted by a PRRS outbreak. But the DOI has now been increased to 23 weeks after Zoetis successfully repeated the registration trial.
The company’s UK’s national veterinary manager Dr Laura Hancox said: “With the existing 23-week DOI for PCV2, this study has proven a single 2ml shot of Suvaxyn Circo+MH RTU provides lifelong M. hyo and circovirus cover in finishing pigs. It now boasts the longest DOI of any one-shot, ready-to-use (RTU) vaccine for these two conditions on the market.”
Treatment is possible from three weeks of age, with the onset of immunity to both PCV2 and M. hyo three weeks after vaccination.
Clinical trials have shown the vaccine reduces faecal shedding caused by PCV2 infection, as well as reducing the viral load in blood and lymphoid tissues. It also reduces lung lesions caused by M. hyo infection.
Dr Hancox said the studies had shown similar levels of protection against M. hyo regardless of the time between vaccination and disease challenge, indicating consistent protection throughout the lifetime of the finishing pig.
“In the trials, pigs vaccinated at three-weeks old were challenged by M. hyo either six weeks, 16 weeks or 23 weeks after vaccination,” she added. “Lung lesions seen four weeks after M. hyo challenge were very similar independent of the time between vaccination and challenge, indicating that whenever the M. hyo challenge arises Suvaxyn Circo+MH RTU gives consistent protection throughout the lifetime of the finishing pig.
Zoetis described the product as a true bivalent vaccine built from the ground up, and not just two existing products mixed together. It is manufactured in a process that uses aspects of human vaccine technology and provides the additional benefits of reduced stress for the pigs and decreased labour time needed for treatment, as only a single injection is required, the company.
