Question
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of a vaccine against Schmallenberg disease in providing immunity to (a) an adult cow and (b) an unborn calf.
[149174]
Answer
The Veterinary Medicines Directorate (VMD) recently issued an updated press release (February 2013) regarding a submission for provisional marketing authorisation for a Schmallenberg vaccine from MSD Animal Health pharmaceutical company (MSD). The VMD and MSD have been working together, ensuring that safety data are complete for marketing. The VMD must ascertain, through a rigorous scientific assessment process, that proper care is taken to ensure any vaccine is safe for the relevant livestock.
We would expect that offspring born to Schmallenberg infected animals or vaccinated animals will have a certain level of protective immunity lasting a few months as a result of maternal antibodies received in the first milk from their mothers. These antibody levels will drop with age and the offspring will then be unprotected until they themselves are vaccinated.