Interchem brings NoBACZ Navel to the Irish marketplace

Wednesday, 15 January 2025

Interchem is delighted to announce the introduction of Nobacz Navel to the Irish market place. In the largest ever navel protection study, Nobacz showed a 21% reduction in lamb mortality versus Iodine. The trial, involving over 6800 lambs, resulted in 17 more lambs per 1000 alive and an average of 230g extra bodyweight per lamb at eight weeks.

Interchem brings NoBACZ Navel to the Irish marketplace

Navel ill affects thousands of lambs and calves each year, when bacteria from the environment colonise on and travel up the freshly exposed umbilical cord. The welfare and financial consequence can be severe. Clinical cases involve abscesses at the navel and localisation of bacteria throughout the body. Commonly, these bacteria move to the joints, causing joint ill. In extreme cases the bacteria can have more detrimental consequences, affecting heart valve function or even causing meningitis. Commonly, affected animals will either die or have to be euthanised on welfare grounds. At a minimum, many will require extensive antibiotic treatment to recover.

NoBACZ Navel is a brand-new, science-backed liquid that rapidly disinfects and dries the navel after a single application. It forms a non-colonisable, long-lasting waterproof seal around the naval, keeping bacteria out, and also contains a bitter agent to deter cow or ewe licking.

NoBACZ Navel uses patented mineral polymer technology, in the form of shellac. Shellac is a natural resin left behind on trees by the lac bug, and is a natural, safe and biodegradable product. On the back of the shellac market, the forests where it is harvested from are protected from deforestation. Harvesting the shellac creates a lot of jobs for women in parts of the world where large gender employment inequality still exists.

In the largest ever navel protection study, renowned sheep vet Fiona Lovett BVSc PhD DSHP FHEA DipECSRHM FRCVS, compared mortality rates and weight gain on 11 different farms with over 6,800 lambs. She used twin lambs exclusively. One twin was given NoBACZ Navel while the other was administered Iodine. As they were twins, genetics were identical and the only significant variability in the trial was based on which navel treatment product was used.

When using NoBACZ Navel, lambs showed a 21% reduction in mortality compared to those treated with Iodine. In real terms, this resulted in 17 more lambs alive per 1000 born or 3.5 more lambs alive per 200. In addition, the lambs in the NoBACZ group were on average 230g heavier at eight weeks of age. This average daily gain benefit is likely to come from less non-fatal infections, less antibiotic use, and generally improved health and welfare.

Ciarán Lenehan, Director of Sales & Marketing at Pharvet and Interchem, describes the NoBACZ Navel technology and why Interchem brought these products to the Irish market. “Interchem and Pharvet aim to bring science-backed product ranges to the Irish market place, including sustainably sourced products that support the veterinary sector in reducing the dependency on traditional antibiotics. NoBACZ Navel represents a significant step forward in young stock management. In conjunction with good hygiene management and good animal husbandry, NoBACZ Navel has been proven, quite definitively, to support significant welfare and production advances in our young stock.”

“We're really excited to see how this product is adopted in Ireland. On the back of it's launch and growth in the UK this year, we have already fielded dozens of queries pre-launch. I think it will become a staple of calving and lambing season,” he added.

Click the link below to find out more about information on the lamb trial carried out by Fiona Lovett.

Read Sheep Trial

NoBACZ Navel is available through both the veterinary and trade channels and is distributed by both the Interchem and Pharvet teams.
Contact your animal health supplier for more information or to order NoBACZ Navel.