Importance of vaccines. | Onderstepoort Biological Products © |22nd February 2013Page 15.

Importance of vaccines.

| Onderstepoort Biological Products © |22nd February 2013 Page 15

Importance of Vaccines

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Diseases impact on livestock and commercial, small holding and emerging livestock

farmers, who are all vulnerable to the ravages of disease in terms of livelihood and

food security and can further impact on the economic development, food security and

trade of the country. Protecting livestock against diseases and preventing their

spread is one of the keys to fighting hunger, malnutrition and poverty.

What is a vaccine?A vaccine is defined as a preparation of dead or weakened pathogens, or their antigenic components which induces protective immunity against the specific pathogen (micro-organism, tumour, toxin), but which does not itself cause disease.

•Vaccines (like a natural infection) induce a specific, systemic and /or local humoral and or cell-mediated immune response to initiate or enhance protection of the host against a specific organism. •Passive immunity of the newborn is obtained via the colostrum of the vaccinated or immune mother.

Importance of Vaccines …..

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Veterinary Vaccines are essential for:

• Protection of individual animals

• Herd immunity to break chains of transmission

•Safe and efficient food production

•Control of emerging, re-emerging and exotic diseases of animals and people

•Reduction of transmission of food borne disease

•Control of zoonotic diseases and thus the threat and/or impact on human lives

(e,g, rabies, influenza, Rift Valley Fever, brucellosis etc

•Reduction of animal suffering

•Reduction in the need for antibiotics or more costly alternatives to

treat animals

•Control of diseases of companion animals and horses

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Increasing demand for food (food security) to feed growing population, means more effective and increased food production, including protein source, will be required – healthy animals are key to meeting the food demand

Food Security

The vaccine market and product life cycle

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The South African Animal Health Market was estimated to be worth R 1 633 703 003 in 2009

Vaccines/biologicals, make up about 27% of the South African Animal Health market. The market caters for companion animals (such as dogs, and cats), horses and livestock or food production animals (such as cattle, sheep, goats, pigs and poultry).

South African Animal Health Market

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