A vaccine used to protect hogs against mycoplasma pneumonia can now be used by producers when processing day-old baby piglets.
The Canadian animal health arm of drug maker Pfizer said last week it’s picked up approval for the new label claim for RespiSure-One, which the company said makes its product the only vaccine approved for use on piglets at that age.
The approval “gives producers the flexibility to vaccinate for mycoplasma at processing, to ensure piglets have ample time to build up immunity before the risk of mycoplasma pneumonia increases,” Walter Heuser, swine business unit director for Pfizer Animal Health, said in a release Friday.
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The vaccine “effectively generates long-term protective immunity in young pigs against M. hyopneumoniae,” which can reduce average daily gain, cut feed efficiency and possibly lead to secondary respiratory diseases in infected animals, the company said.
Pigs can be infected with the pathogen within the first three weeks of life, making early protection key, the company said.
The product is billed as the only vaccine labeled to aid in reducing severity of colonization and shedding of M. hyopneumoniae, the company said, adding that a two-millilitre dose within the first week of a hog’s life allows for up to 25 weeks of immunity.
RespiSure-One is available “exclusively through Canadian veterinarians,” Pfizer said.
