Influence of FMD vaccination stress on milk production in crossbred dairy cattle of Kerala

Abstract

Foot and mouth disease (FMD) is a contagious viral disease affecting cloven-footed animals which is endemic in India. The primary disease control strategy in India is mass vaccination using oil adjuvant killed FMD vaccine containing O, A and Asia 1 serotypes. Variations in milk yield following vaccination with oil adjuvant killed FMD vaccine was studied in 80 crossbred cattle, maintained at Livestock Research Station, Thiruvazhamkunnu for eight days. The study was conducted in August 2019. Rectal temperature, temperature-humidity index (THI) and milk quality were also monitored. Immunization resulted in transient febrile reaction(103.03±0.24 o F) and a significant reduction in milk yield (p<0.01). The average milk production (mean±SE) before vaccination was 7.68±0.28 kg, which dropped to 7.07±0.28 kg, on the day after vaccination. The highest losses were observed on the first day after vaccination, with a mean of 0.58±0.09 kg. Milk quality remained unaffected. Total milk yield of the herd rebounded to pre-vaccination levels by the sixth day after vaccination. The average cumulative production loss calculated over the period was 1.93 Kg per animal. Notable changes in feed or water consumption were not observed. The study observed that production loss due to vaccination is negligible in comparison to potential losses due to FMD in a herd.

Individual Variation of Transient Milk Production Loss After Vaccination in Sahiwal Cows (Bos Indicus)

“…The overall milk yield of the herd recovered to pre-vaccination levels by the sixth day following vaccination, with the greatest losses occurring on the rst day after vaccination, with a mean of 0.58 ± 09 kg. Over the time period, an average cumulative output loss of 1.93 kg per animal was determined (Pramod et al, 2021). Various authors reported a decrease in milk yield after vaccination, which corroborated our study.…”