Fowl Pox VACCINE SPILLED in coop! Help!

[PunkinPeep]

I'm posting this for a friend.

She was vaccinating her chickens for fowl pox and somehow spilled about half of the vaccine on the floor of her coop. She was in a hurry and had to leave, so she piled bedding (d.e., hay, and chicken poop) on top of the spill so the chickens wouldn't peck at it before she left.

She's concerned since this is a live virus vaccine that she spilled IN THE COOP.

Anyone have experience with this?

 

[eggsrcool]

I have no experience with fowl pox or the vaccine.

I would use a mixture of water and bleach, because the bleach should destroy the microbes.
Keep the chickens away when cleaning it, and wash the solution away with lots of water, you dont want the chickens getting any damage from the solution, even better, keep them away for a few days or until dried.
This should be done ASAP
Im not entirely sure if this would work, but its the only thing I can think of. Sorry I cant be of more help.

 

[silkiechicken]

I wouldn't worry about it. It is a "live" vaccine, which means it's a dumbed down version of the pox which probably can't even "survive" so to say poured on the ground. Viruses are technically not alive by some schools of thought, becuase they do not have their own replicative machinery, so a live one is likely a "whole virus" rather than just a few select proteins from the pox.

If I remember right, the vaccine is an injectable? So even if it was eaten, I doubt it will do much or give an infection to the flock any more than you'd be giving a pseudo infection to them via vaccination.

 

[PunkinPeep]

Thanks for the responses!

I love the explanation about the "dumbed down" virus.

Right after i posted this, i called the manufacturer about it. At first they couldn't tell me anything and wanted to have someone call me back. Then i mentioned it was a spill, and the lady panicked a little and transferred me to someone who transferred me to someone who thinks that unless one of the birds actually gets the liquid in its eye, it should be fine; and he's going to have a field vet call me back - presumably.

My initial thought was that if the chickens can be kept out of it for a couple of hours, then the vaccine will be dead anyway. I think it's only viable for effective injection for 2 - 2 1/2 hours or something like that. But then i thought that i didn't know if the organic matter would somehow allow it to grow and thrive and become a problem.

Still waiting for return call.

 

[eggsrcool]

Ok. Thank you for the update!!

 

[silkiechicken]

Since it is a virus, a virus has no reproduction machinery, and requires a host to replicate. That means, on the soil, it can do nothing till it can infect a host and steal control of host cells to make more of it self. Since it is dumbed down, you would need to pretty much inject it for it to even have a chance at reproducing... but since it is dumbed down, it should not be able to reproduce, only show it's antigens, which the body uses to make immune cells that recognize it as "not self".