Materia Medica Malaysiana

First spray vaccine for livestock

Two local scientists have developed the first "pneumonic pasteurellosis" spray vaccine for livestock.
Associate Prof Effendy Mohd Wahid of Kolej Universiti Sains Teknologi Malaysia (Kustem) and Prof Mohd Zamri Saad of Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM) spent nearly eight years developing this pneumo-spray vaccine.
This product, known as KUSTEMvax, has been tested on livestock and proven more effective than injections, which are painful, cause lameness in some animals, and waste of syringes and needles.
From a commercial standpoint, the new method also saves time: it takes 1,000 goats a week to be vaccinated, whereas with the new method, the same number can be vaccinated in two days,
Effendy, in an interview at Kustem today, said the project to develop the vaccine started in UPM.
He said KUSTEMvax offered a cheaper and more effective solution as farm owners would not have to spend money on syringes and training workers to inject animals.
"It also offers extra protection to animals, especially when the spread of a disease is at its peak," he said.
He added that tests had been conducted on livestock at Mardi farms in Negri Sembilan, Johor and Perak for the past year.
KUSTEMvax is expected to be commercialised within the next five months.