Sheep vaccine for PGE sees successful trial

A new vaccine protecting lambs against parasitic gastroenteritis (PGE) could save the sheep industry £80m a year, according to researchers at Moredun.


A prototype vaccine trialled in six- to seven-month-old lambs resulted in 60-70% reductions in both worm egg shedding and in adult worm numbers at postmortem examination.


Alistair Nisbet, who heads up the research team at Moredun, said they were now researching the best way to use the prototype vaccine strategically in sheep production systems.


The prototype should soon be in the hands of a vaccine-production company who will work over the next few years to convert it into a useful on-farm product as another weapon in the battle against PGE in sheep.


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