Vaccination requirements for Leptosure

Purpose

To clarify the vaccination requirements to meet the “Leptosure Approved” standard.

Background

Vaccination is only one aspect of the Leptosure program. It is vital that vaccine is administered correctly but it is also important to ensure that the other key messages of Leptosure are conveyed and observed.

In the Leptosure guidelines, it is not specified who must perform the actual act of vaccinating livestock in order to be “Leptosure Approved.”

There are two main reasons: 

1. Lepto vaccine is a restricted veterinary medicine (RVM) that has no specific registration conditions that preclude authorised person use
2. Leptosure is not audited so it is not an accredited programme recognised by any organisation.

The term “Leptosure Approved” can be applied by an individual veterinarian to a farm that has met the requirements of the Leptosure guidelines. It is in the best interests of the Leptosure programme and the reputation of the veterinary profession, that the guidelines are followed correctly to the standard expected of veterinarians.

Guidelines

The Dairy Cattle Veterinarian Society believe that best practice would mean veterinary practice administered lepto vaccine, either by a veterinarian or veterinary technician. This is part of a robust vaccine programme that adheres to all product registration conditions and accepted industry recommendations.

However, the DCV is also aware that veterinary practice vaccination is not always possible or practical and that farmer administered vaccine does occur. For these farms to be Leptosure Approved, the vaccination requirements that are required to be met by the farmer are no different from those that must be met by a veterinary practice.

This expectation is the same for all RVMs that are dispensed to clients and if a veterinarian believes that these requirements are not being met, then the RVM should not be authorised and dispensed nor the term “Leptosure Approved” applied.*

The minimum standards for Leptosure Approval in farmer-vaccinated herds are:

• Correct administration technique (injection site, subcutaneous, avoiding air bubbles, hygiene, changing packs etc)
• Correct equipment is used (vaccination gun, needles, draw off tubes etc)
• Correct and accurate dose rate is given
• Correct storage of vaccine at all times
• Correct timing of all vaccinations
• Expiry dates complied with
• Ability to recognise equipment failure and solve the issue immediately (e.g. vaccination gun failure halfway through)
• Accurate records of all stock classes and dates administered are kept and available for inspection and verification upon request.

Discussion

Because Leptosure is not part of an accredited programme, clinics do have some flexibility in how they offer the programme to clients. If in line with practice policy, a clinic is perfectly entitled to offer “Leptosure Approval” only to those farms that are veterinary practice vaccinated..

Likewise, a clinic may have 100% farmer-vaccinated herds that are “Leptosure Approved” because they can be utterly confident that their vaccine authorisation and dispensing instructions are being followed to the expected standard on all farms.

Conclusion

It is in the best interests of the Leptosure programme and the reputation of the veterinary profession, that the guidelines are followed correctly to the standard expected of veterinarians.

*see ACVM Notice: Requirements for Authorising Veterinarians