Immune, health, and growth responses of beef calves administered modified-live virus respiratory vaccine in the presence of maternal antibody versus a traditional vaccination regimen

Abstract

Typical preconditioning guidelines recommend that calves be vaccinated against respiratory and other pathogens at or near weaning (~205 days) because of the historical belief that maternal antibodies from colostrum ingested by the neonatal calf may interfere with the immune response to vaccination. However, recent research investigating vaccination during the presence of maternal antibodies suggests that neonatal calves vaccinated with a modified-live virus (MLV) vaccine are protected from subsequent BVDV challenge and immature calves vaccinated at 67 days of age develop both an initial and anamnestic antibody response. Our objective was to determine the effects of administration of a pentavalent MLV respiratory vaccine to calves at approximately 60 days of age versus at a traditional vaccination regimen age (near weaning) on health, growth performance, and BVDV type la-specific antibody titers and T cell activation.