Worksafe Alert

Ovine Johne’s Disease (OJD) Vaccinations

Background

The sheep wasting disease Ovine Johne’s Disease (OJD) now has a means of prevention. This prevention is in the form of a single vaccination using a vaccine known as Gudair TM, manufactured by CZVeterinaria, Spain and distributed in Australia by Pfizer Animal Health.

Gudair™ vaccine has been registered for use in sheep and goats in Australia since 2002 and over 5 million sheep have been vaccinated. According to Windsor (2004), this vaccine is the most valuable tool available today for the control of Ovine Johne’s disease (OJD). In its proper application, the vaccine needs to be used with considerable care and needs to be confined to use in sheep and goats (Windsor, Eppleston, Sergeant, Reddacliff, McGreggor, Bush, Toribio and Whittington, 2003).

It has come to the attention of WorkSafe Victoria that a number of users of the Gudair TM vaccine have accidentally self-injected the vaccine raising concerns about the human safety of the vaccine. In a number of cases producers have required surgery to remove the vaccine material.

Most incidents occurred whilst moving amongst sheep in races or climbing into yards. It is vital that the vaccinator is appropriately controlled at such times i.e. either put down, held firmly in the hand or placed in a vaccine holster.

Gudair™vaccine is harmful if it is accidentally injected into humans, because it has been made specifically:

It is therefore important that you handle Gudair™ vaccine very carefully, and

In humans, accidental self-injection with Gudair™ vaccine may result in a severe and long lasting reaction at the site of the injury (Some reports have been 6 to 24 months). There may also be general ill-health during this time. Allergic reaction may occur from repeated or prolonged exposure to the vaccine.