UBAC – Strep. uberis vaccine

This year sees the launch of a new vaccine targeting clinical mastitis caused by Strep. uberis in Australia from Hipra.  UBAC was first registered in the EU in 2018 and has since been registered in 40 countries - Australia being the most recent.

Strep. uberis is the most common cause of clinical mastitis in the southeast dairy regions accounting for 30 - 40 % of all clinical cases across all seasons and stages of lactation.  Strep. uberis is also a significant cause of sub clinical mastitis and high ICCC’s.

UBAC has been shown to:

• Reduce clinical mastitis caused by Strep. uberis by up to 50 %

• Reduce antibiotics needed to treat Strep. uberis mastitis by up to 56 %

• Reduce the milk production losses caused by Strep. uberis mastitis by 0.9 litres per day across the whole lactation.

• Reduce the cell count in animals with Strep. uberis mastitis.

The vaccine is labelled for use at 60 days pre-calving with boosters at 21 days pre-calving and 15 days post-calving.  A booster every six months is needed to maintain a high level of immunity throughout lactation.  This labelled strategy may not be achievable in many herds but there are a variety of “off-label” vaccination strategies that have been shown to also be effective, however these legally require farm specific veterinary advise.

UBAC is priced at $15.00 per dose but Hipra have an introductory offer to supply the third dose for free for this year.  UBAC is registered for use in organic herds and will have a good fit in herds selling colostrum (where they cannot use a teat sealant at dry off) as well as herds with known significant Strep. uberis issues in cows and heifers that have been resistant to other control measures.

Give one of our vets a call to discuss if UBAC has a role to play in your mastitis control program.