We’ve had a very bad run up and start to lambing, about 30 out of 150 yearlings have aborted, none of the other ewes. Sent some lambs away to be tested and they have come back with the results that they both lambs had toxo. They have had both toxo and enzo vaccinations, as we had it very bad several years ago so vaccinated everything and anything new that comes on the farm as standard. Has anyone had this?
Toxo in vaccinated ewes
- Thread starter Farmworker82
- Start date
Downtrodden Dad
Member
- Location
- Cumbria
Get your vet to take it up with the vaccine manufacturer,I find they are usually keen to see what’s happening in cases as severe as yours.
ritchiekirkland
Member
Manufacturer normally comes back and says you must have administered it wrong right enough 
spin cycle
Member
- Location
- north norfolk
how many years since they were vaccinated.....i've seen opinions divided on here from....1 jag/lifetime to jag every 2 years
ritchiekirkland
Member
Yeah but there yearlings so they’ve been done less than two years
Only done this time! Never had any problems with vaccinated ewes to be fair since we started doing it.when we had it before the ewes weren’t at all well after, a lot died but this time the ewes are a picture of health before and after!
- Location
- Dumfries & Galloway
I'm not 'up' on Toxo... can they get it before you vaccinated, so will still abort even though vaccinated - same as Enzo?
Less Barron’s than we’ve ever had! It’s came as a complete shock as we had the ewes blood tested pre lambing as only have stubble turnips and crystalix buckets so wanted to check they weren’t short of anything before lambing and the results came back spot on, the ewes were in good order and vaccinated, I wouldn’t go so far as to say we thought we’d have a good lambing but felt we’d done everything we could so it would bubble along ok, how wrong we were! Thought things had settled down in the yearlings but 5 have lambed today with dead or half dead lambs, and the triplets won’t get on and lamb so no spare lambs to put on them!
Obviously I'm not a vet, although my uncle was and did some of the original work on Toxo, if you are having dead and weakly lambs at the beginning of lambing, it would appear more like Enzo. Toxo would give you more barrens and abortions a few weeks prior to lambing?
That’s what I thought. With toxo do they not abort early on in pregnancy and nearly have time to put the tup out again.
Results have come back to say to was campylobacter not toxo, must admit a relief that the toxo vaccine had worked but just something else to worry about. The yearlings scanned at 180% but as it stands at the moment they ones that have lambed/aborted they wouldn’t even be 100%. Vets don’t want us to vaccinate against it, I know from reading previous threads that some you use it so just asking for some advice please!
- Location
- N.Lincs
- Location
- Montgomeryshire
I think it tends to rumble on in a flock, causing a few losses, then flare up in a storm every few years. The last time I had a storm, I had 10% of the flock abort (early enough that they had no milk), before going through everything with oxytet. That stopped it almost overnight, but I understand there are some resistant strains about so some vets are hesitant to recommend that. Ultimately though, there’s nothing else you can do in the face of a storm.
The vaccine is called Campyvax, and has to be imported under a ‘Special Import Certificate’, which your vet has to apply for (takes 10 minutes online). There are importing companies (Merlin Vets?) that bring it in, who will supply it to your vets, or you can source it yourself and get it shipped in refrigerated packaging.
I imported it myself and the total cost (half of which was the shipping) last time came in at just under 60p/dose. I have heard of vets quoting anything between £1 and £2 a dose, which makes the decision to vaccinate somewhat different.
The vaccine is a killed vaccine, and they need two 1ml doses to get them on the system before the first lambing, then a 1ml booster before tupping each year. In reality, most folk give them the first course, then a booster the next year, then let natural immunity take care of them after that.
It is a very effective vaccine ime, and we never get any hoggs empty at the end of lambing, after scanning pregnant, any more, whereas I always thought half a dozen was ‘normal’.
Sheep do get naturally immune to it though, and it’s in the environment anyway. Whether it’s worth the cost and hassle is questionable, but anyone that’s experienced a preventable storm would jump at it I would think.
Thank you for replying, after this lambing I think it’s something I definitely want to use, enough problems with sheep that you can’t do anything about!
- Location
- North Wales
All depends at what stage they get infected.
CopperBeech
Member
- Location
- A Welsh man lost in England
I would agree that sounds like enzo if you’re having one dead and one weak.
We had a campylobacter outbreak a few years ago, jabbed everything with alamycin which had zero effect, definitely the lowest point of my shepherding career, couldn't do a thing to stop it. Our vet told us to mix aborted ewes with sheep that had already lambed to help with immunity the following year