Elanco to showcase injection to fight transition diseases

Elanco Animal Health is to exhibit its new solution to transition disease this week at UK Dairy Day.

Imrestor, which uses the protein pegbovigrastim, is an injection with no withdrawal period and will be showcased by Elanco at UK Dairy Day, Telford, Shropshire, on 14 September.

Available by prescription only, Imrestor is administered twice – first seven days prior to the anticipated date of calving and for a second time within 24 hours after calving – to reduce the risk of clinical mastitis in cows and heifer in the 30 days following calving.

In the 60 days before and 30 days after calving, dairy cows can suffer a dip in their natural immunity, leaving them vulnerable to diseases such as mastitis, metritis and retained placenta.

Imrestor works by boosting the number and function of neutrophils – white blood cells that target and destroy harmful bacteria.

See also: Tips for improving cow immunity for transition success

Elanco claims the jabs will revolutionise the approach taken to tackle transition disease.

The injection’s launch follows the creation of Elanco’s antibiotics stewardship plan, which hopes to encourage the responsible use of antibiotics, reduce shared-class antibiotic use and replaces antibiotics with alternatives.

Fiona Anderson, technical vet at Elanco, reiterated the importance of adopting a preventative approach to transition diseases.

“It’s no secret that a successful transition period is vital for maximising productivity in the next lactation, yet we are still ‘firefighting’ common transition diseases such as mastitis rather than focusing on their true cause,” she says.

“Imrestor helps to restore a cow’s own natural immunity and strengthen her ability to defend herself against infection – thus helping to protect the cow against diseases such as mastitis when she needs it most.”