Poultry vaccine handling

1. Vaccine Storage
and Handling
Dr. Javaria Alam

2. Vaccine
 A vaccine is a type of medicine that trains the body's immune system so that
it can fight a disease it has not come into contact with before.
 Vaccines are designed to prevent disease, rather than treat a disease once
you have caught it.
 Sometimes, after getting a vaccine, the imitation infection can cause minor
symptoms, such as fever. Such minor symptoms are normal and should be
expected as the body builds immunity.
 Therefore, it is possible that a person infected with a disease just before or
just after vaccination could develop symptoms and get a disease, because the
vaccine has not had enough time to provide protection.
 Immunization cannot be a substitute for poor biosecurity and sanitation.

3. Types of Vaccines
 There are five main types of vaccines.
 Live, attenuated vaccines. These vaccines contain a version of the living
virus or bacteria that has been weakened so that it does not cause serious
disease in people with healthy immune systems.
 Inactivated Vaccines: Killed germs
 Toxoid vaccines: the toxins are weakened so they cannot cause illness.
Weakened toxins are called toxoids.
 Subunit vaccines: Contains only a part of germ.
 Conjugate vaccine is a type of vaccine which combines a weak antigen with
a strong antigen

4. Poultry Vaccine
There are two main types of vaccines available for poultry
 Live attenuated vaccines
 Inactivated vaccines
Production mainly in three forms:
 Liquid , Freeze dried , Dust

5. GUIDELINES FOR SUCCESSFUL
VACCINATIONS
 Always vaccinate only the healthy birds and keep them comfortable by
providing adequate heat, feed, water and good ventilation.
 Get the vaccines from a reliable source and transport always in thermos flask
with ice cubes to maintain the cold chain.
 Use Sterile needles and syringe for reconstitution.
 Keep the reconstituted vaccine in the ice to maintain the cold chain.
 Don't rush through the vaccination procedures. Use speed but maintain
accuracy.

6. Guidelines
 Use reconstituted vaccines within 2 hours.
 Burn and destroy the unused vaccine and empty vials.
For killed vaccines frequently shake
 The bottle and care should be taken to avoid injecting in your own fingers.
 Live vaccines should not be used in areas where the disease has not existed.
 Vaccination should be done during the cold hours of the day.

7. STORAGE OF VACCINES
 All vaccines should be protected from light.
 All live vaccines must be stored between 2-8 C temperature and preferably in
deep freezer.
 Killed vaccines should be stored below 8 C and should never be frozen.
 Diluents may be stored in room temperature, but prior to every vaccination
the corresponding should be pre-chilled.

8. Handling
For all vaccines:
 Storage temperature = 35-45º F (2-8º C).
 Avoid freezing, extreme heating and intense light.
For Live Vaccines:
 Transport to farm in cooler with ice packs to keep temperature constant.
 Mix with diluent (reconstitute) just before application.
For Inactivated Vaccines:
 Remove 24 hours prior to vaccinating so that the product can warm to room
temperature.
 Also, can use warm water bath–do not exceed 100º F for more than 5 hours .
 Do not leave bottles in direct sunlight during transport to farm.
 Gently agitate bottles thoroughly prior to use.

9. Effect of temperature
 Killed: Storage below 35F is damaging and change adjuvant.
 Bound toxins release.
 Don’t use freeze and expired vaccines.

11. Injectable vaccines

12. Before Vaccination:
 Remove the vaccine from the refrigerator and leave at room temperature for at least 12 hours in
order to reduce the viscosity of the chilled mineral oil, thus making the administration easier and
preventing intense local reactions.
 Oil emulsion vaccines can also be warmed using a warm water bath prior to injection do not exceed
100° F (37° C) for more than 5 hours.
 Gently agitate the vaccine container before and during the vaccination.
Vaccine Administration:
 Administer the vaccine by using only the labeled dose at the chosen site of injection.
 Needles should be regularly replaced, at least once every 500 birds.
 Make sure that there is no air in the tube when the vaccine is administered.
Post Vaccination:
 Record vaccine information and any problems that may occur regarding the birds or the vaccination
process.
 After vaccination, all needles, syringes and plastic tubes must be washed prior to sterilization.
 Sterilize all equipment which will be used in the vaccination, using autoclave, alcohol or boiling
water.

13. Crew Safety
 Accidental human injection with oil emulsion products is a serious potential
danger when injecting this group of products. When this occurs, immediate
medical attention should be administered to the injured personnel.
 When these products are injected into the hands or fingers, they can alter
circulation leading to severe injury. Immediate treatment will involve
removing the oil emulsified product to improve healing in the affected area.
This should be done by a qualified medical professional.
 Proper injection technique and bird handling will reduce the potential for
human injection to occur. Bird handlers have an important responsibility to
present the birds for injection at the proper angle for the chosen site of
injection.
 If the syringe operator has to struggle to reach the site of injection, the
chance for misapplication and accidental injection is much higher.

14. Errors
SC neck injection is a safe method of vaccination; however, improper technique
can cause harm to the birds. The following misapplications can have serious
consequences:
 Vaccine is placed into the skin layer (intradermal). The area will develop into
a hard lump and/or scab that may rupture, which birds will peck at causing
bleeding and possible mortality. This will provide poor immunity.
 Vaccine is injected into the neck muscle (intramuscular). The muscles of the
neck are very small and the immune reaction to the vaccine creates
inflammation and pressure. The damaged muscle heals by forming scar tissue.
This scar tissue can lead to birds with twisted necks, resulting in poor
performance.

15. Errors
 If the needle is inserted too deeply, the needle will pass through the muscle
layer and vaccine can be injected into the spinal cord. Birds usually die within
a few minutes after injection into the spine.
 Birds injected too close to the head will develop swollen heads which can
impair feed consumption and vision. Injecting too low results in swelling over
the back. Flock-mates may peck at these noticeable swellings causing more
problems.

16. Errors
 When injection occurs through the side, off mid line, large vessels and soft
tissues may be damaged. The needle can damage blood vessels causing SC
bleeding. The thymus gland lies below the skin on both sides of the neck.
Vaccine injected into the thymus leads to swelling with an eventual necrosis
of the surrounding tissue.
 Also, inserting the needle through the side can cause the needle to pass
through both layers of skin. Vaccine ends up wetting the feathers on the
opposite side of the neck and the bird does not develop immunity.

18. Thank you!
Any Question