Calf vaccination

Clostridium in Calves

Clostridia are a group of bacteria which live in the soil and produce harmful toxins causing major damage to various body organs. The toxins can be ingested directly or can be produced by clostridia bacteria already living in the gut. Clostridial diseases have extremely quick onset of clinical signs and can cause sudden death. Tetanus and Botulism are two of the most well known clostridia bacteria.

Control of these diseases is best achieved by vaccination of susceptible animals.

Vaccination of calves

Best practice is to give the first vaccination of a 5 in 1 vaccine at debudding with a second and third injection of 7 in 1 (with lepto) at 4 week intervals. A 10 in 1 vaccine can be given instead of the 5 in 1 injection if your herd has a high risk of clostridial infections.