On 15th and 16th November, HIPRA organized a HIPRA UNIVERSITY course in Spain for a group of 7 dairy veterinarians. The course included a visit to 2 reference dairy farms located in Meira (Lugo, Spain) and a technical session.

During the visits the participants were accompanied by the owners and the veterinarians responsible for the farms and had the opportunity to meet and exchange points of views about the industry, production system and the vaccination protocols used on the farm for the prevention of infectious diseases.

On the second day, Adelaide Pereira (Portuguese KOL in prevention and responsible for Bovicontrol) and Deolinda Silva (HIPRA PORTUGAL TMM) delivered a technical session dedicated to the theme of “Immunology and Diagnosis in Dairy Cows”.

The importance of diagnostic tools in the detection and monitoring of diseases, making decisions according to diagnostic results and the implementation of vaccination protocols were the topics addressed by Adelaide Pereira.

It has become very clear that vaccination protocols that allow diagnostic monitoring are essential for the optimization of animal health and evaluation of disease dynamics on dairy farms.

Deolinda Silva presented HIPRA solutions (vaccines and diagnostics) and showed how to implement and adapt the vaccination programmes according to farm management, status and epidemiological status.

At the end of the 2 days, the veterinarians concluded that the vaccination plan for dairy cows has to have a broad viral spectrum, be efficacious, easily implemented on the farm and allow diagnostic monitoring.

During these 2 days the guests had the opportunity to visit the surroundings of Lugo and taste the gastronomic specialities of the region.