Source: T.G. Nagaraja, Professor of Diagnostic Medicine and Pathobiology at K-State College of Veterinary Medicine
RADIO REPORT: K-State College of Veterinary Medicine Develops New Vaccine
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Wrap
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You have selected a report on a new vaccine developed by Kansas State University's College of Veterinary Medicine. The wrap and soundbite come in 3, 2, 1. . .
WRAP
1: A new vaccine developed at K-State's College of Veterinary
Medicine could have great economic impact on cattle producers
TIME: :56
SUGGESTED INTRO: A new vaccine developed at K-State's College of Veterinary Medicine could have great economic impact on cattle producers by helping to prevent liver abscesses in cattle -- a problem that affects between 20 and 40 percent of grain-fed feedlot cattle. Lanice Thomson reports.
BEEF PRODUCTION IN THE U.S. IS A BILLION DOLLAR BUSINESS, AND A NEW VACCINE DEVELOPED AT K-State WHICH PREVENTS LIVER ABSCESSES IN CATTLE COULD HELP SAVE BEEF PRODUCERS MONEY. K-STATE VETERINARY PROFESSOR T.G. NAGARAJA SAYS THE NEW VACCINE WILL SAVE PRODUCERS BETWEEN TEN AND SIXTY-FIVE DOLLARS PER HEAD BY ELIMINATING LIVER CONDEMNATION. MORE IMPORTANTLY, HE STRESSES THIS VACCINE COULD HAVE A GREATER ECONOMIC IMPACT BY ALLEVIATING SOME OF THE NEGATIVE SYMPTOMS THAT ARE FOUND IN CATTLE THAT HAVE THIS DISEASE. . .
"Animals that have abscessed livers don't perform as well. They tend to eat less, they tend to gain less, and in terms of the efficiency of feed conversion is reduced. That's the real economic impact."
NAGARAJA ALSO SAYS BECAUSE THE VACCINE IS INJECTED ONCE INTO THE CATTLE, IT'S MORE CONVENIENT THAN THE CURRENT SOLUTION OF MIXING ANTIBIOTICS IN DAILY FEEDINGS. LANICE THOMSON, KANSAS STATE UNIVERSITY.
ACTUALITY
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TIME: :42
Liver abscesses are a rather common problem in the beef industry and are found in between 20 and 40% of all grain-fed cattle in feedlots. K-State professor Dr. T.G. Nagaraja says a new vaccine developed at K-State's College of Veterinary Medicine helps prevents this disease. Currently, cattle are given daily doses of antibiotics mixed in their feed, but he says that is not 100% effective. He predicts that this new vaccine could eliminate the use of those antibiotics. This sound bite is : 42 and the outcue is ". . .if not cheaper."
(Nagaraja :42 "Antibiotic use in animals is of some concern to the public health issue because it leads to the development of bacterial resistance and potentially could have a public health impact. One major advantage of this vaccine would be that it could be a substitute for the use of antibiotics. Antibiotics has to be given daily – every day – and if you take into account the cost of the antibiotic, and the labor involved in mixing the antibiotic in the feed, I am sure that the price of the vaccine would be comparable to the price of the antibiotic, if not cheaper.")
Currently the vaccine is being manufactured in small doses due to space constraints at the manufacturer's facilities. Nagaraja says he expects it to be mass-produced by spring of this year.