UBAC – Mastitis 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 somatic cell counts (SCCs).

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 somatic 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 us a call to discuss if UBAC has a role to play in your mastitis control program.