Foothill Abortion Vaccine Now Available to Cattle Producers
Hygieia Biological Laboratories receives USDA approval on long-awaited vaccine

SACRAMENTO, Calif. —After decades of research, money and hopes being poured into finding a vaccine for Epizootic Bovine Abortion (EBA), commonly known as Foothill Abortion Disease, a vaccine is now available for producers to obtain through veterinarians. The announcement was made by Hygieia Biological Laboratories (Hygieia) earlier today after the United States Department of Agriculture Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service’s Center for Veterinary Biologics gave conditional approval for the vaccine to become commercially available.

“The news that Hygieia has received a conditional license to provide EBA vaccine to California’s beef producers is amazing, as this disease is responsible for millions of dollars in losses to California beef producers annually,” said Tom Talbot, a veterinarian and past California Cattlemen’s Association (CCA) President.

“As a veterinary student many years ago, I spent time working for researchers who were confident they would be the ones that would provide a solution for this disease,” Talbot said. “Little did I know at the time that it would be several decades later before this day would actually arrive. Congratulations to all of those who had a role in this endeavor.”

Due to the lengthy process it takes to develop a new vaccine, it is not uncommon for new products with no existing substitutes, such as the EBA vaccine, to first enter the market with a conditional license. With CCA’s support, the vaccine has been on experimental trial since 2015 and has remained as one of the Association’s top research priorities for decades.

“This license to produce EBA vaccine is the result of many years of hard work by CCA, UC Davis, Dr. Jeffrey Stott, Myra Blanchard and Hygieia,” CCA President Mark Lacey said. “Additionally, a large investment was made to help develop this vaccine by our Livestock Memorial Research Fund. I commend the members of that committee for their fundraising efforts and commitment to the goal of creating a vaccine that will benefit our members.”

In addition to the investments CCA and its members have made, efforts by the University of California and the University of Nevada, Reno have been vital in leading to this vaccine.

According to Hygieia’s announcement, the vaccine is available in 30-dose vials and can be given to open animals of 6 months of age and older, at least 60 days prior to the initiation of breeding. To learn more about the vaccine, email Jenna Chandler at jenna@hygieialabs.com.

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The California Cattlemen’s Association is a non-profit trade association that represents California’s ranchers and beef producers in legislative and regulatory affairs.