Calf Talk

August, 2008

Volume 14, No. 8

ONSET IN - FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

By: Russ Schnepper, D.V.M.

Intervet/Schering-Plough’s new modified live virus vaccine, ONSET IN is given intranasally. The 5 way virus vaccine is effective when given to day one calves. It is the first proven IBR, PI3, BVD types 1 and 2, and BRSV vaccine on the market, that is given intranasally.

1. Can it be given to a day old calf and be safe and effective? YES

2. What if my hired man accidently injects ONSET in the muscle or under the skin? Intervet ran the study and injected the product. There were no detrimental effects and it was as effective as Vista 5.

3. I have some Vista 5. Can I give it intranasally? Yes. It is safe and effective.

4. Is it safe and desirable to give ONSET intranasally to stressed calves that are already coming down with a respiratory problem? YES. The vaccine will cause the calf’s own immune system to produce interferon (Mother Nature’s own remedy).

5. How long does the immunity last? Intervet is still running the studies to determine how long the immunity persists. It should be every bit as long as the injectable and probably longer.

6. Can the vaccine be given simultaneously with Immunoboost? Yes - no problem.

7. Does ONSET IN give one dose protection to the baby calf? We are not sure, but with any vaccine, on any given day, vaccine injected into healthy calves will only produce good immunity in less than 80% of the calves. I would repeat the vaccinations in the young calves the way we have always done it. If it is easier for you to inject the booster vaccinations, you can do it successfully. The calves will probably experience the downer effects of the modified live vaccines as we have always seen.

8. Can I give my bacterial vaccines intranasally, like Lepto and E. Coli? NO. There is no data I am aware of that shows killed bacterial vaccines are effective intranasally.

9. Then why does the Once PMH work intranasally? It is a bacteria. Once PMH is an attenuated vaccine. It is alive.

10. What are limiting factors to using the vaccines? Selenium deficiency reduces results. I would inject Selenium and Vitamin E at the same time as the vaccine. If it has been more than a month since the last injection.

These statements are my personal opinion, based upon my experiences and the best research data that I have been able to find. Intervet did an excellent job researching the ONSET IN intranasal vaccine.

TRY “ONSET IN”. YOU AND THE CALVES WILL LIKE IT.

Contact information for ordering information and questions about our products:

Schnepper International, Inc.

3210 County B, Platteville, WI 53818

608-348-6141, Fax: 608-348-6146