August 6, 2012
MSD Animal Health's streptococcus vaccine approved in Indonesia
Press release
MSD Animal Health has obtained approval from Indonesia, the world's third largest producer of farmed tilapia, to begin marketing AQUAVAC® Strep Sa, an inactivated vaccine against Streptococcus agalactiae infections in tilapia and other susceptible fish.
Streptococcus is a highly prevalent bacterial disease that can cause high levels of mortality and sharp decreases in fish performance. "If left uncontrolled, S. agalactiae Biotype II infection could cause mortality rates of up to 90% in pre-market age fish," says Neil Wendover, technical director for warmwater aquatic species at MSD Animal Health.
"The disease also results in significant declines in feed conversion and growth in tilapia. Surviving infected fish may also be damaged and produce lower quality and lower yielding fillets," he adds.
The world's first oil-adjuvanted vaccine for tilapia is administered intraperitonealy as a single-injection dose to fish weighing no less than 15 grams. Vaccinated fish develop protection within 3 weeks of injection and laboratory challenge studies have demonstrated that this protection lasts for at least 30 weeks. The vaccine - the first of its kind in the industry - was registered successfully in Brazil in late 2011 and subsequently in several Central American countries.
"The tilapia industry is quickly adopting vaccination as a disease management tool because it fits with its strategy to produce healthy, profitable, high-quality fish for local and export markets," says Wendover, noting that vaccinated fish often show significant performance improvements when compared to unvaccinated controls. MSD Animal Health is pursuing registrations for AQUAVAC Strep Sa in other major tilapia markets.
MSD Animal health - known as Merck Animal Health in the US and Canada-offers customers a strain identification service to ensure they are choosing the correct vaccine. AQUAVAC Strep Sa has been shown both by the strain survey and cross-protection studies to be the vaccine to use in Indonesia and Latin America.
