Minister for Agriculture Martin Heydon has said that his Department has been made aware of recent shortages of the Heptavac P Plus sheep vaccine.

Department of Agriculture officials are working to address the tight availability of the clostridial and pasteurellosis vaccines, Minister Heydon stated.

“The relevant marketing authorisation holder has advised my officials that shipments are scheduled for delivery throughout February and March,” he said.

“Whilst my Department cannot directly control the supply and availability of a specific vaccine, all actions have been taken to ensure access to alternative products is facilitated.”

A system for issuing special import licences has been put in place to allow the import and on-farm use of alternative clostridial and pasteurella vaccines.

The Department has said that impending livestock vaccine shortages can be reported by emailing vetmedshortages@agriculture.gov.ie.

Flagging availability issues will give officials the chance to ensure that “appropriate action can be taken to ensure market supply”, Minister Heydon explained.

“Vaccination is a key biosecurity tool to prevent disease and promote better animal health and productivity and I acknowledge and welcome the significant increase in use of vaccines across all sectors.”

Heptavac P issues

Speaking at a National Sheep Association event in Dungiven, Co Derry, in mid-February, Cara Sheridan of MSD Animal Health said that batch failures due to quality control testing had been a key reason behind the supply issues.

Sheridan said the Heptavac manufacturing site at Milton Keynes in England must run at almost full capacity to keep up with demand, so any disruption causes immediate shortages.

“If we get a batch failure, which is inevitable with vaccines, it just knocks the whole thing off.

“That will always be the case because the testing is rigorous,” she said.