Dr. Cristina Venegas-Vargas, a member of the Veterinary Medicine Research and Development team at Zoetis, spoke to The Pig Site’s Sarah Mikesell at the Leman Swine Conference in St. Paul, Minnesota, USA, about the results of a recent sow study she led.

Vaccination of the breeding herd for porcine circovirus (PCV2) and Mycoplasma hyopneumoniae (Mhp) can help reduce PCV2 circulation and homogenize herd immunity. It’s important to demonstrate that the use of a PCV2-Mhp vaccine is safe when used in all stages of gestation.

“We conducted a study with Fostera® Gold PCV MH (IVP), and the purpose was to determine the safety of the vaccine when you apply it to swine that are pregnant,” said Dr. Venegas-Vargas.

The study enrolled 360 sows on two commercial farms in the US, ranging in parity from 0 to 7. The gilts and sows received a 2 ml dose of Fostera Gold PCV MH intramuscularly (IM).

“They were vaccinated at three different stages of gestation, so we looked at the animals from that point all the way through one-week post-farrowing,” she said. “We also observed the piglets that came from those sows during their first seven days.”

The study looked at adverse events in the sows and gilts, injection site reactions, and reproductive and farrowing outcomes as well as litter health observations during the piglets’ first week of life.

Study results

“There were no injection site reactions,” she noted. “The adverse events we observed were not related to Fostera Gold PCV MH, and there were only four that were unknown but unlikely to be related to the IVP.”

No clinical or biologically relevant differences between the vaccinated groups and the control groups were seen regarding reproductive outcomes, farrowing outcomes, adverse events or productivity.

Benefits of the study on the farm

The study results confirm the safety of Fostera Gold PCV MH when administered as a single 2 mL dose IM to pregnant swine in all stages of gestation under field conditions.

“This means producers can feel comfortable administering the vaccine for the prevention and control of PCV2 and Mhp to sows when they are pregnant because the vaccine is safe to give to the sow, and it’s also safe for piglets being born from those sows,” said Dr. Venegas-Vargas.

Reference: Venegas-Vargas, et. al.; An Inactivated PCV2a/PCV2b Mycoplasma Hyopneumoniae Vaccine; Leman 2023 (v1.0).