POM-V Prescription Required

Poulvac Bursa Plus Lyophilisate for Suspension for use in Drinking Water for Chickens

Active ingredient: Infectious bursal disease virus

Form

Liquid

Species

Chickens

Manufacturer

Zoetis Belgium S.A.

VMD MA No.

60021/3064

What it's used for

Onset of immunity: 14 days after vaccination. Duration of immunity: 32 days after vaccination.

Full indications, dosage and side effects ↓

View official SPC (PDF)

The prescription itself has a price. See what practices near you charge for a consultation and the written prescription fee.

Paying less for Infectious bursal disease vi...

1

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They must provide one on request. Under the CMA Order the fee is capped at £21 from 2027.
2

Fill it at a registered online retailer

The CMA found online pharmacies 50–60% cheaper than practice dispensing on common medicines — typically £200–£300 a year.

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Prescription required

Your vet must provide a written prescription on request. You can then purchase from any licensed online retailer.

Clinical information

Poulvac Bursa Plus Lyophilisate for Suspension for use in Drinking Water for Chickens — SPC Details

Source: VMD Summary of Product Characteristics (SPC). Last updated 27 Mar 2026.

Onset of immunity: 14 days after vaccination.
Duration of immunity: 32 days after vaccination.

Make sure that all conduit pipes, tubing, troughs, drinkers etc are thoroughly clean
and free of any trace of disinfectants, detergents, soap, etc.
Allow water to be consumed so that levels in drinkers are minimal before vaccine is
applied. If water is still present, drain lines before applying vaccine. Apply vaccine
over up to 3 hours, ensuring that all birds drink during this time. Birds’ drinking
behaviour varies. It may be necessary to withhold water on some sites prior to
vaccination in order to ensure that all birds drink during the vaccination period. The
aim is to give every bird one dose of vaccine.
Water used for drinking water administration of a live virus vaccine must be non-
chlorinated and contain as few as possible metal ions. This can be achieved by
allowing mains water to stand for 12 hours or by use of deionised water. The addition
of milk powder (low-fat skimmed milk powder, <1% fat, 2-4 grams per litre) or
skimmed milk (1 litre per 40 litres of water) is recommended where this is not
possible to increase the stability of the virus.
Open the vaccine ampoule under water and dissolve thoroughly. As the concentrated
vaccine is slightly viscous, care should be taken to empty the ampoule and its top
completely by rinsing them in water. Then, thoroughly dissolve in a 1 litre container
and stir well before mixing with more water in a 10-litre container before application.
Vaccine must be stirred thoroughly for several minutes at each stage. Do not split
large vials to vaccinate more than 1 house or drinking system, as this leads to mixing
errors. Apply diluted vaccine to cold and fresh water at the rate of 1,000 doses of the
vaccine to 1 litre of water per day of age for 1,000 chickens, e.g. 10 litres would be
needed for 1,000 10-day old chickens.
All tubing should be emptied of plain water, so that the drinkers contain only vaccine
water. Ideally vaccine should be administered in the volume of water consumed by
the birds in up to 3 hours. If in doubt, measure water intake the day before
administering the vaccine.
Administer the dissolved vaccine to birds immediately after dilution.
Upon reconstitution, white to pink-orangish opaque suspension (depending on the
volume of water used).
Avoid exposure of the vaccine suspension to sunlight.
Avoid stress in the birds around vaccination.

None.

Chickens:
Very common
(>1 animal / 10 animals treated):
Bursa of Fabricius lymphocyte depletion
1
Notable in 75-100 % of the follicles.
Lymphocyte repopulation begins from 21 days post vaccination. At 28 days post
vaccination 25-75 % of follicles are still depleted. As a consequence, vaccination with
Poulvac Bursa Plus may induce immunosuppression.
Reporting adverse events is important. It allows continuous safety monitoring of a
veterinary medicinal product. Reports should be sent, preferably via a veterinarian, to
either the marketing authorisation holder or the national competent authority via the
national reporting system. See the package leaflet for respective contact details.

Use only in flocks with maternal antibody levels of ≤ 500 ELISA units.
Vaccinate healthy animals only.
Due to its residual pathogenicity to the bursae, the vaccine should be used only in
case of outbreaks of very virulent IBDV strains.

Special precautions for safe use in the target species:
Use carefully as the veterinary medicinal product spreads from bird to bird and may
also spread to nearby flocks. Reversion to virulence studies conducted at the
laboratory level demonstrated that there is no increase in virulence after 5 passages
in chickens. However, it is recommended to avoid spreading, especially to laying
birds.
The optimum age for vaccination may be determined with the following method:
Determine the ELISA* antibody titres against Gumboro disease in 20 chickens of 1
day of age.
For each result, calculate the square root.
Calculate the average square root for all data (M).
The age for vaccination (J) is calculated with the formula:
J = 1 + (M - 22.36)
2.82
*Method valid for data collected with the Idexx FlockChek®: Anti-IBD assay kit.
Whatever the vaccination day calculation reaches, do not vaccinate birds less than
10 days of age.
Special precautions to be taken by the person administering the veterinary medicinal
product to animals:
Personnel involved in attending vaccinated chickens should follow general hygiene
principles (changing clothes, wearing gloves, cleaning and disinfection of boots).
Special precautions for the protection of the environment:
Not applicable.

Interaction with vaccination against Newcastle disease has been studied. No
significant interference in protection against challenge with virulent Newcastle
disease virus is observed in birds vaccinated at 10 days of age with the veterinary
medicinal product and 7 days later with a live Newcastle disease vaccine. However,
a statistically significant lower serological response to Newcastle disease virus was
observed in birds vaccinated with the veterinary medicinal product. As a
consequence, a transient immunodepression following vaccination with the veterinary
medicinal product cannot be excluded.
No information is available on the safety and efficacy of this vaccine when used with
any other veterinary medicinal product. A decision to use this vaccine before or after
any other veterinary medicinal product therefore needs to be made on a case-by-
case basis.

Store and transport refrigerated (2 C – 8 C).
Do not freeze.
Protect from light.

Zero days.

This information is sourced from the official Summary of Product Characteristics (SPC) published by the Veterinary Medicines Directorate (VMD). It is provided for informational purposes only and does not replace professional veterinary advice. Always consult your vet before administering any medication.