Our autogenous vaccines have to be manufactured according to our manufacturing  licence for which standard information is required:

Orders must be confirmed in writing, including the number of doses, and the date required. You are required to supply the name, address and postcode of all farms involved; this may include the rearing site. The VMD require to be satisfied that the isolate(s) to be included in the vaccine are epidemiologically linked to the site(s) where the vaccine is to be used.  You will need to supply as much information as possible about from where and how the strain(s) was isolated, the symptoms of disease, the morbidity or mortality rate etc. If Ridgeway Biologicals Ltd did not isolate the strain, you will need to confirm that the method of isolation complies with our TSE risk assessment.

When to use an autogenous vaccine?

• When no licensed vaccines are available to control diagnosed disease.
• To support reduction of antimicrobials use and antibiotic-free programmes.
• To support food safety programmes, e.g. fighting Salmonella infection.
• To fight against infection caused by multi-drug resistant bacteria.

What is the role of the veterinarian?

After the responsible veterinarian confirms that there is a disease that cannot be treated or prevented with licensed/commercial product, adequate samples from the sick animals should be taken. From these samples, bacterial strains are isolated, purified, identified, and characterized.

The veterinarian who has made the initial diagnosis (together with the diagnostic laboratory) is responsible for choosing the relevant bacteria that is/are known to be the cause of the disease; he/she will write the prescription of the autogenous vaccine for the selected strain(s).

Ceva will support the veterinarian in each step of the process.

How are autogenous vaccines used?

These vaccines are used in different ways, depending on the rearing system and the disease:

• To the animals present in the unit where disease is present.
• To the animals before they enter to the unit where disease is present.
• To the breeders of the animals that are under threat so the progeny can be protected through passive immunity in order to decrease vertical transmission of the pathogen(s) and to prevent early age infections.

Autogenous vaccines produced by Ridgeway are released after undergoing a rigorous set of quality test to ensure sterility and safety. The final test is an On Farm Safety Test. Vaccine samples will be supplied to allow this test to be undertaken under the supervision of the prescribing vet on the farm where the product is destined to be used.Specific test protocols will be supplied according to the prescribed vaccine dosage and program.