Halamid enables mobile automated fish vaccination

All stock handling procedures in aquaculture carry a degree of biosecurity risk. In the case of vaccination by injection this is particularly evident by virtue of the invasive nature of the procedure which involves the introduction of pharmaceutical components directly into the fishes’ body. This procedure must be carried out, as far as is possible, aseptically.

To achieve this it is essential that standards of hygiene in a round the operation are maintained to as high a level as possible. Preventing a biosecurity breach is far more preferable than solving one!

Halamid is a well-known disinfectant for aquaculture premises and has been used in the manual vaccination of fish for many years already. The simple measure of regular disinfection of all equipment used, such as holding tanks, injection table, tubing, pumps, etc. greatly reduces the risk of transmitting pathogens before, during and after the vaccination.

Fish vaccination, whether by mobile semi-automatic machines or by teams of specialists administering vaccine by hand injection necessarily involves the movement of personnel and equipment from site to site. Whilst this presents a biosecurity risk, it is one which can be easily controlled.

Scottish based Highland Aquaculture Team offer a mobile vaccination service using the new NFT 20 machine developed by Pharmaq Fishteq in Norway. They have been mounted on a rig that can simply be trucked for placement at their customers’ sites, all salmon hatcheries. This experienced team fully understands the potential biosecurity risks and therefore disinfects and flushes the machines and associated piping with a Halamid solution at the end of each day. On top of that before, moving to a different farm they conduct an additional disinfection after dismantling part of the machine. This procedure has been verified by local biosecurity experts.

Halamid is not only providing complete decontamination but it is also safe for the materials and surfaces in this equipment. Halamid easily rinses off leaving no harmful residues. Where any residues to be left, in small amounts, these would not normally pose a problem because fish can tolerate Halamid in small (few ppm) levels.

Axcentive is closely involved in this type of useful automation in animal rearing. In this respect it is also interesting to refer to a project reported in an earlier press release where Halamid was successfully tested in a French fogging robot for poultry houses.

Halamid has a proven track record in both the poultry as well aquaculture sectors as a disinfectant that produces a high level of biosecurity without putting animals and plant and equipment at risk.

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