University Products LLC Comments on AG News America's Recent Survey Showing Preferences and Strategies to Help Ward-Off Anaplasmosis in U.S. Cattle - Including Prevention via Anaplasmosis Vaccine

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Feb 04, 2021, 11:10 ET

BATON ROUGE, La., Feb. 4, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- University Products, LLC recently noted a survey of ranchers and farmers detailing the most-preferred strategies for helping control the spread of anaplasmosis in U.S. herds. Anaplasmosis is a blood disease carried by parasites that infects red blood cells and causes severe anemia and death, representing a major annual financial loss to ranchers and the beef industry. University Products, LLC is the maker and distributor of a bovine anaplasmosis vaccine successfully tested and deployed since 2000.

Respondents to the anaplasmosis survey fell into three main categories: 78% chose vaccination as a main strategy to deploy, 14% chose chlortetracycline (CTC) treatments, 5% chose testing, and 3% chose other. CTC is a broad-spectrum antibiotic usually given in a variety of feeding levels and is used in beef cattle, non-lactating dairy cattle, and sheep. CTC has traditionally been the medical treatment of choice, often deployed as a preventative or after cattle are already infected and begin to show signs of disease. CTC cannot be used in every cattle-producing country however, and recent antibiotic resistance, updated FDA regulations, and consumer trends in the agricultural industry are also beginning to shift producers away from consistent antibiotic use as a preventative measure.

Respondents noted the cost per head for vaccination was in the range of $7 to $9, while CTC-use was reported at $20 to $24 per head. Costs involving testing varied by lab and test used. Vaccination is clearly the most preferred and affordable strategy for a wide majority of respondents, who also stated that they preferred it for a single, important reason: it eliminated the threat of anaplasmosis in the treated animal altogether. While respondents using the other two methods continued to experience significant cattle loss, despite using CTC or testing.

The vaccine developed by Dr. Gene Luther, D.V.M., Ph.D. for University Products has already been FDA-approved for experimental use and has been widely used with almost no side effects or adverse reactions reported. A detailed description of the vaccine and its method of administration is publicly available for PDF download.

For more information on the ongoing vaccine study, or vaccine availability for farmers and producers, contact Dr. Luther directly by email at [email protected].

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SOURCE University Products LLC