Understanding Vaccinations in the Egg Industry

| Safety Science

Vaccines used in the food animal industry not only to help fight animal disease but prevent human illness by lowering the risk that consumers come in contact with contaminated food. Vaccines are weakened or killed organisms, such as a bacteria or virus, that when ingested causes an antibody response to produce future protection against the organism. Many food safety programs in the egg industry require the employment of a vaccination program as one of the many ways to reduce Salmonella Enteritidis (SE) prevalence within the hen and the hen’s environment.   Egg producers work with veterinarians to create an ideal vaccination program specific to each farm. Two major types of vaccines are used in the food animal industry today—live and killed vaccines.