The ICMSA said that in keeping with the strong push towards preventative medicine via the use of vaccines and the need to reduce dependence on antibiotics, farmers have embraced change and increased the use of vaccines over the last year and the last six months particularly.
But that positive trend has hit a major roadblock that is the scarcity or even non-availability of the vaccines.
Eamon said that ICMSA members around the country have been highlighting problems accessing vaccines at particular times, as well as significant delays in availability of vaccines for IBR, salmonella, leptospirosis. He noted that all these vaccines can play a hugely important role in preventative medicine, improving animal health and also contributing to reducing the threat of antimicrobial resistance (AMR).
“There is growing frustration among farmers that vaccination programmes on farms are being undermined by the non-availability of vaccines and there is an onus on particularly the regulators, but also the pharmaceutical companies, to ensure that sufficient vaccines are available when required.
“AMR is a significant issue that farmers are proactively addressing only to be let down, again, by the system. The ICMSA has been in contact with the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine on this matter and we have asked them to investigate the delays and put in place a plan to ensure that vaccine availability will not be an issue going forward.”