Dosage
One dose (0.2 intramuscularly or 0.5 subcutaneously) per chicken. The vaccine is to be administered intramuscularly in one of the leg muscles or subcutaneously into the neck.
Use within 2 hours of reconstitution.
Dilution of vaccine
Reconstitute each 1,000 doses with 200ml of diluent. 2,000 dose vials should be reconstituted in 400mls of diluent. To administer subcutaneously, dilute 1,000 doses in 500ml of diluent. Dilution should be done under sterile conditions with diluent at room temperature. An ampoule may occasionally explode after it has been taken out of liquid nitrogen so goggles should be worn.
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 diluent 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. Special care has to be taken to ensure that the mix-ups of ampoules with different number of doses is avoided and the correct diluent is used.
Take the ampoule of vaccine out of the container of liquid nitrogen into a bowl containing clean tepid water (temperature 27°C (80°F) and not higher than 37°C (98°F)). Thaw the vaccine concentrate by carefully turning the ampoule, then remove from the water and dry the ampoule. The thawed vaccine concentrate must be used immediately.
Break the ampoule and withdraw the total contents carefully into a 10ml sterile disposable syringe, using an 18G x 1.5 inch (1.2 x 40mm) or larger gauge needle. Slowly withdraw about 8ml of diluent into the syringe. Turn the syringe 5-10 times to mix the contents well. Slowly transfer a small volume of the mixture into the empty vaccine ampoule in order to remove the last remnants of the vaccine and withdraw this small amount back into the syringe, and carefully transfer the entire contents of the syringe into the diluent bottle. Rotate the bottle about 10 times to mix the contents well.
The bottle of diluent should be kept closed throughout the procedure.
The vaccine is now ready for use.
Administration
Poulvac Marek CVI + HVT may be administered either manually preferably by using a multi-dose syringe dose and fitted with a 23G x 1 inch (0.60 x 25mm) needle or by a vaccination machine.
Administer the vaccine intramuscularly into the thigh muscle or subcutaneously in the neck.
NB: During the vaccination procedure rotate the bottle of reconstituted vaccine solution every 5 minutes to prevent the cells from sedimenting. Use within 2 hours of reconstitution.