Target species
Chickens.
Indications for use
For active immunisation of one-day-old chicks to reduce mortality, clinical signs and lesions due to infection with avian infectious laryngotracheitis (ILT) virus and Mareks' disease (MD) virus.
Onset of immunity:
ILT: 4 weeks,
MD: 9 days.
Duration of immunity:
ILT: 60 weeks,
MD: entire risk period.
Contraindications
None.
Special warnings for each target species
Vaccinate healthy animals only.
Special precautions for use
As this is a live vaccine, the vaccine strain is excreted from vaccinated birds and may spread to turkeys.
Safety trials have shown that the strain is safe for turkeys. However, precautionary measures have to be followed in order to avoid direct or indirect contact between vaccinated chickens and turkeys.
During subcutaneous vaccination, care should be taken to prevent damage of the blood vessels in the neck of the chickens.
Operator warning
The handling of liquid nitrogen should take place in a well-ventilated area.
Innovax-ILT is a virus suspension packed in glass ampoules and stored in liquid nitrogen. Before withdrawing ampoules from the liquid nitrogen canister, protective equipment consisting of gloves, long sleeves and a facemask and goggles should be worn. In case of an accident to prevent serious wounds by either the liquid nitrogen or the ampoules when removing an ampoule from the canister, hold palm of gloved hand away from body and face. Care should be exercised to prevent contaminating your hands, eyes and clothing with the ampoule content. CAUTION: Ampoules have been known to explode on sudden temperature changes. Do not thaw in hot or ice cold water. For this reason, thaw the ampoules in clean water at 25-27°C. In case of accidental self-injection, seek medical advice immediately and show the package leaflet or the label to the physician.
Adverse reactions
None known.
Use during pregnancy or lactation
No information is available on the use in future breeding birds.
Interactions
Safety and efficacy data are available which demonstrate that Innovax-ILT can be mixed in the same solvent and administered with Nobilis Rismavac in Member States where this vaccine is authorized.
When Innovax-ILT is mixed with Nobilis Rismavac the development of immunity towards ILT may be delayed in animals with maternally derived antibodies.
For this mixed use, an onset of immunity of 5 days has been demonstrated for MD.
Safety and efficacy data are available which demonstrate that this vaccine can be administered on the same day, but not mixed with, Nobilis ND Clone 30 or Nobilis ND C2.
No information is available on the safety and efficacy of this vaccine when used with any other veterinary medicinal product except the products mentioned above. A decision to use this vaccine before or after any other veterinary medicinal product therefore needs to be made on a case by case basis.
Amounts to be administered and administration route
Subcutaneous use.
Preparation of the vaccine:
Disinfect vaccinating equipment by boiling in water for 20 minutes or by autoclaving (15 minutes at 121°C).
Do not use chemical disinfectants.
The handling of liquid nitrogen should take place in a well-ventilated area.
1. Use solvent for cell associated poultry vaccines for reconstitution.For subcutaneous use reconstitute the vaccine according to the table below:
Solvent bag | Number of vaccine ampoules for subcutaneous use |
Bag of 400 ml solvent | 1 ampoule containing 2000 doses |
Bag of 800 ml solvent | 2 ampoules containing 2000 doses |
Bag of 800 ml solvent | 1 ampoule containing 4000 doses |
Bag of 1200 ml solvent | 3 ampoules containing 2000 doses |
Bag of 1600 ml solvent | 4 ampoules containing 2000 doses |
Bag of 1600 ml solvent | 2 ampoules containing 4000 doses |
When this product is mixed with Nobilis Rismavac, both should be diluted in the same solvent bag in the same way (400 ml of solvent for each 2,000 doses of both products or 800 ml of solvent for each 4,000 doses of both products).
The solvent must be clear, red coloured, without sediment and at room temperature
(15-25 °C) at the time of mixing.
2. Preparation of the vaccine shall be planned before the ampoules are taken from the liquid nitrogen and the exact amount of vaccine ampoules and amount of solvent needed shall be calculated first. There is no information available on the number of doses on the ampoules once they are removed from the cane, so special care has to be taken to ensure that the mix-ups of ampoules with different number of doses is avoided and the correct solvent is used.
3. Before withdrawing the ampoules from the liquid nitrogen container, protect hands with gloves, wear long sleeves and use a facemask or goggles. When removing an ampoule from the cane, hold in the palm of a gloved hand away from the body and the face.
4. When withdrawing a cane of ampoules from the canister in the liquid nitrogen container, expose only the ampoule(s) to be used immediately. It is recommended to handle a maximum of
5 ampoules (from one cane only) at a time. After removing the ampoule(s), the remaining ampoules should be put back immediately into the canister in the liquid nitrogen container.
5. The content of the ampoule(s) is thawed rapidly by immersing in clean water at 25-27 °C. Gently swirl the ampoule(s) to disperse the contents. It is important that the ampoule content, after being thawed, is mixed immediately into the solvent to protect the cells. Dry the ampoule, then break the ampoule at its neck and immediately proceed as described below.
6. Gently withdraw the contents of the ampoule into a sterile syringe, mounted with an 18 gauge needle.
7. Insert the needle through the stopper of the solvent bag and add slowly and gently the contents of the syringe to the solvent. Gently swirl and invert the bag to mix the vaccine. Withdraw a portion of the solvent into the syringe to rinse the ampoule. Remove the washing from the ampoule and inject it gently into the solvent bag. Remove the syringe and invert the bag (6-8 times) to mix the vaccine.
8. The vaccine is now ready for use.
After adding the content of the ampoule to the solvent, the ready to use product is a clear, red coloured suspension for injection.
Posology:
One single injection of 0.2 ml per chick at the age of one day, by the subcutaneous route.
Administration:
The vaccine is administered by subcutaneous injection in the neck. The bag of vaccine should be gently swirled frequently during vaccination to guarantee that the vaccine suspension remains homogenous and that the correct vaccine virus titre is administered (e.g. during long vaccination sessions).
Control of correct storage:
To allow a check on correct storage and transport the ampoules are placed upside down in the liquid nitrogen containers. If frozen content is situated in the tip of the ampoule this indicates that the content has been thawed and must not be used.
Overdose
No symptoms were observed after the administration of a 10-fold dose of vaccine
Withdrawal period
Zero days.