In many food animal production systems, treatment protocols are an important component of maintaining herd health. A treatment protocol is the veterinarian’s instruction for disease management and can be developed within the context of a veterinary-client-patient relationship. A well-designed treatment protocol should include:
- Case definition
- Signs/symptoms that indicate the animal has met the requirements for receiving treatment
- Drug regimen – administration instructions that specify:
- The drug
- Dose to be administered
- Route of drug administration
- Site of drug administration (drug label or BQA guidelines)
- Maximum volume of drug administered per injection site
- Needle size
- Frequency of administration (examples: single injection or every 12 hrs)
- Treatment duration
- Treatment success/failure criteria
- Indicators that the animal requires additional treatment
- Secondary/additional treatments
- Drug regimen details as above
- Instructions for disposition of treated animals
- Withdrawal time for meat (and milk if used in lactating dairy cows)
- Salvage slaughter vs. euthanasia for treatment failures
The treatment protocol should be agreed upon by farm personnel and the veterinarian. By sticking to the protocol, it ensures the best treatment outcomes and allows for evaluation of treatment effectiveness. While a change in protocol may be necessary in rare cases, this should only be done after consultation with your veterinarian.