By Leslie Ballentine, Farming and food commentator

I remember the days of howling kids in the doctor’s office when mine and other little ones had to face their annual vaccinations. Although the needle jab was really no big deal, little kids never seem to see it that way. Well, they would be envious of pigs and chickens. That’s because livestock and poultry can now get some of their vaccinations needle-free.

Over the past year, a new technology has come on the market that replaces the hypodermic needle with jet propulsion. Picture the Star Trek series when Bones gives a crew member a shot: Needle-free injectors using a high speed blast of gas to propel medicines through the skin. News reports say a growing number of farms in Manitoba are making good use of this new invention.  And it’s started to get promoted with those in the hog sector.

Unlike with our kids, replacing needles on hog farms is more than just about the uncomfortable jab. Needles also pose a stabbing risk to farm workers who have to handle the squirming animals they are trying to vaccinate. Such accidental stabbing is a worker safety issue since it can transmit zoonotic diseases between pigs and their handlers. Needles may be used multiple times so they can also pose a risk of spreading infections between pigs.  Also, using needles can waste medication and needles are not always accurate in providing the precise dosage in the precise location.  Although very rare, needles can pose a food safety risk if they break during injection, which is why these hogs are scanned with metal detectors. And needles create a cost for farmers and veterinarians in disposing of them in an environmentally responsible way.

In poultry farming needles are also being replaced with nasal sprays- something that I hear is becoming available to people too. Although these technologies don’t work for all medications or all situations, at least not yet, they are being used if and where they can be. So someday maybe our kids will get to benefit from these new farm technologies too.

Until the next BLOG.

---

Posted by OFAC on March 28th, 2011 :: Filed under Animal care,Animal health,Innovation and technology
Tags :: animal care, farm, pigs, Poultry
You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

---