Botulism
Vaccines in animals

Vaccines have been developed for use in animals to prevent botulism. The availability and approval of these vaccines varies depending on the location, with places experiencing more cases generally having more vaccines available and routine vaccination is more common.

A variety of vaccines have been developed for the prevention of botulism in livestock. Most initial vaccinations require multiple doses at intervals from 2–6 weeks, however, some newer vaccines require only one shot. This mainly depends on the type of vaccine and manufacturers recommendations. All vaccines require annual boosters to maintain immunity. Many of these vaccines can be used on multiple species including cattle, sheep, and goats with some labeled for use in horses and mules as well as separate vaccines for mink. Additionally, vaccination during an outbreak is as beneficial as therapeutic treatment in cattle, and this method is also used in horses and pheasants.

The use of region specific toxoids to immunize animals has been shown to be effective. Toxoid types C and D used to immunize cattle is a useful vaccination method in South Africa and Australia. Toxoid has also been shown to be an appropriate method of immunizing minks and pheasants. In endemic areas, for example Kentucky, vaccination with type B toxoid appears to be effective.
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