Current Info About Vaccines

[Aleron]

This was posted on another forum I am on by the founder of The Rabies Challenge Fund and I thought it was woth passing on.

Permission granted by Dr. W. Jean Dodds to post and repost this article.

ALL ABOUT VACCINE ISSUES & VACCINATIONS*
W. Jean Dodds, DVM 1 and Ronald D. Schultz, PhD 2

There is little doubt that application of modern vaccine technology has permitted us to protect companion animals effectively against serious infectious diseases. Today, we can question conventional vaccine regimens and adopt effective and safe alternatives primarily because the risk of disease has been significantly reduced by the widespread use of vaccination programs, which convey underlying population or herd immunity.

For many veterinary practitioners canine vaccination programs have been “practice management tools” rather than medical procedures. Thus, it is not surprising that attempts to change the vaccines and vaccination programs based on scientific information have created significant controversy. A “more is better” philosophy still prevails with regard to pet vaccines.

Annual vaccination has been and remains the single most important reason why most pet owners bring their pets for an annual or more often “wellness visit.” Another reason for the reluctance to change current vaccination programs is many practitioners really don’t understand the principles of vaccinal immunity. Clearly, the accumulated evidence indicates that vaccination protocols should no longer be considered as a “one size fits all” program.

Giving annual boosters when they are not necessary has the client paying for a service which is likely to be of little benefit to the pet’s existing level of protection against these infectious diseases. It also increases the risk of adverse reactions from the repeated exposure to foreign substances.

So, have veterinarians really embraced the national policies on vaccination guidelines from the American Animal Hospital Association, American Veterinary Medical Association and Academy of Feline Practitioners? Does the public trust veterinarians to be up-to-date on these issues or are they unsure? Do they believe veterinarians have a conflict of interest if they seek the income from annual booster vaccinations? Given current media attention to vaccination issues, the public is more aware and worried about vaccine safety.

Some veterinarians today still tell their clients there is no scientific evidence linking vaccinations with adverse effects and serious illness. This is ignorance, and confuses an impressionable client. On the other hand, vaccine zealots abound with hysteria and misinformation. None of these polarized views is helpful.

Further, veterinarians are still routinely vaccinating ill dogs and those with chronic diseases or prior adverse vaccine reactions. This is especially problematic for rabies boosters, as many colleagues believe they have no legal alternative, even though the product label states it's intended for healthy animals. For more information, see RabiesChallengeFund.org


Alternatives to Current Vaccine Practices

1) measuring serum antibody titers;
2) avoidance of unnecessary vaccines or over vaccinating;
3) caution in vaccinating sick or febrile individuals; and
4) tailoring a specific minimal vaccination protocol for dogs of breeds or families known to be at increased risk for adverse reactions.
5) considerations include starting the vaccination series later, such as at nine or ten weeks of age when the immune system is better able to handle antigenic challenge;
6) alerting the caregiver to pay particular attention to the puppy’s behavior and overall health after the second or subsequent boosters; and
7) avoiding revaccination of individuals already experiencing a significant adverse event. Littermates of affected puppies should be closely monitored after receiving additional vaccines in a puppy series, as they too are at higher risk.

Some Frequently Asked Questions – Some questions are part of the Guidelines for Vaccination of Dogs and Cats compiled by the Vaccine Guidelines Group (VGG) of the World Small Animal Veterinary Association (WSAVA)

Q. Do dogs competing in agility or other events need more vaccines for protection than other pet dogs?
A. No, although if the event location has an exposure risk for Leptospirosis or Lyme disease , annual vaccination for these diseases should be considered.

Q. Is there risk of overvaccinating with vaccines not needed for a specific animal?
A. Yes. Vaccines contain material designed to challenge the immune system of the pet, and so can cause adverse reactions. They should not be given needlessly, and should be tailered to the pet’s individual needs.

Q. Are the initial series of puppy core vaccines immunosuppressive?
A. Yes. This period of immunosuppression from MLV canine distemper and hepatitis vaccines coincides with the time of vaccine-induced viremia, from days 3 to 10 after vaccination.

Q. Can anesthetized patients be vaccinated?
A. This is not preferred, because a hypersensitivity reaction with vomiting and aspiration could occur and anesthetic agents can be immunomodulating.

Q. Is it safe to vaccinate pregnant pets?
A. Absolutely not.

Q. Should pets with immunosuppressive diseases such as cancer or autoimmune diseases, or adverse vaccine reactions/ hypersensitibvity receive booster vaccinations?
A. No. Vaccination with MLV products should be avoided as the vaccine virus may cause disease; vaccination with killed products may aggravate the immune-mediated disease or be ineffective. For rabies boosters that are due, local authorities may accept titers instead or accept a letter from your veterinarian.

Q. If an animal receives immunosuppressive therapy, how long afterwards can the pet safely be vaccinated?
A. Wait at least 2 weeks.

Q. Should vaccines be given more often than 2 weeks apart even if a different vaccine is being given?
A. No. The safest and most effective interval is 3-4 weeks apart.

Q. At what age should the last vaccine dose be given in the puppy series?
A. The last dose of vaccine should be given between 14-16 weeks regardless of the number of doses given prior to this age. Rabies vaccine should preferably be given separately as late as possible under the law (e.g. 16-24 weeks).

Q. Should the new canine influenza vaccine be given routinely?
A. No. It is intended primarily for pounds and shelters and high density boarding facilities, as nose-to-nose contact and crowding promote viral transmission.

Q. Can intranasal Bordetella vaccine be given parenterally (injected)?
A. No. The vaccine can cause a severe local reaction and may even kill the pet.

Q. Will a killed parenteral Bordetella vaccine given intranasally produce immunity?
A. No.

Q. Are homeopathic nosodes capable of immunizing pets?
A. No. There is no scientific documentation that nosodes protect against infectious diseases of pets. The one parvovirus nosode trial conducted years ago did not protect against challenge.

Q. Should disinfectant be used at the vaccine injection site?
A. No. Disinfectants could inactivate a MLV product.

Q. Can vaccines cause autoimmune diseases?
A. Vaccines themselves do not cause these diseases, but they can trigger autoimmune responses followed by disease in genetically predisposed animals, as can any infection, drug, or chemical / toxic exposures etc.

Q. Can a single vaccine dose provide any benefit to the dog? Will it benefit the canine population?
A. Yes. One dose of a MLV canine core vaccine should provide long term immunity when given to animals at or after 16 weeks of age. Every puppy 16 weeks of age or older should receive at least one dose of the MLV core vaccines. We need to vaccinate more animals in the population with core vaccines to achieve herd immunity and thereby prevent epidemic outbreaks.

Q. If an animal receives only the first dose of a vaccine that needs two doses to immunize, will it have immunity?
A. No. A single dose of a two-dose vaccine like Leptospirosis vaccine will not provide immunity. The first dose is for priming the immune system. The second for boosting the immunity has to be given within 6 weeks; otherwise the series has to start over again. After those two doses, revaccination with a single dose can be done at any time.

Q. Can maternally derived antibodies (MDA) also block immunity to killed vaccines and prevent active immunization with MLV vaccines?
A.Yes. MDA can block certain killed vaccines, especially those that require two doses to immunize. With MLV vaccines, two doses are often recommended, particularly in young animals, to be sure one is given beyond the neutralizing period of MDA.

Q. How long after vaccination does an animal develop immunity that will prevent severe disease when the core vaccines are used?
A. This is dependent on the animal, the vaccine, and the disease.

· The fastest immunity is provided by canine distemper virus (CDV) vaccines -- MLV and recombinant canarypox virus vectored. The immune response starts within mins - hrs and provides protection within a day without interference from MDA.
· Immunity to canine parvovirus (CPV-2) develops after 3-5 days when an effective MLV vaccine is used.
· Canine adenovirus-2/hepatitis (CAV-2) MLV given parenterally provides immunity against CAV-1 in 5 to 7 days.

Q. Can dogs be “non-responders” and fail to develop an immune response to vaccines?
A Yes. This is a genetic characteristic seen particularly in some breeds or dog families. Boosting them regularly will not produce measurable antibody. Some of these animals may be protected against disease by their cell-mediated and secretory immunity.

Q. Are there parvovirus and distemper virus field mutants that are not adequately protected by current MLV vaccines?
A. No. All the current CPV-2 and CDV vaccines provide protection from all known viral isolates, when tested experimentally as well as in the field. The current CPV-2 and CPV-2b vaccines provide both short and long term protection from challenge by the CPV-2c variant.

Q. Are serum antibody titres useful in determining vaccine immunity?
A. Yes. They are especially useful for CDV, CPV-2 and CAV-1 in the dog, FPV in the cat, and rabies virus in the cat and dog. Rabies titers, however, are often not acceptable to exempt individual animals from mandated rabies boosters in spite of medical justifcation. Serum antibody titers are of limited or no value for (many of) the other vaccines.

1 President, Hemopet, 938 Stanford Street, Santa Monica, CA 90403; 2 Chairman, Department of Pathobiological Sciences, School of Veterinary Medicine, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI 53706.

* Excerpted from: AKC Health Foundation, St. Louis, MO, 2007; J Sm An Pract 48, 528–541, 2007; 5th IVVDC Conference , Madison, WI , 2009.

Additional Literature

● Day MJ, Horzinek MC, Schultz RD. Guidelines for the vaccination of dogs and cats. J Sm An Pract, 48, 528-541 2007

● Dodds WJ. Vaccination protocols for dogs predisposed to vaccine reactions. J Am An Hosp Assoc 38: 1-4, 2001.

● Dodds WJ. Vaccine issues revisited: what’s really happening ? Proc Am Hol Vet Med Assoc, Tulsa, OK, 2007, pp 132-140.

● Paul MA (chair) et al. Report of the AAHA Canine Vaccine Task Force : 2006 AAHA Canine Vaccine Guidelines. J Am An Hosp Assoc 42:80-109, Mar-April 2006, 28 pp. aahanet.org

● Schultz R D Considerations in designing effective and safe vaccination programs for dogs. In: Carmichael LE (editor), Recent Advances in Canine Infectious Diseases. Intern Vet Inform Serv, 2000. ivis.org.

● Schultz RD. Duration of immunity for canine and feline vaccines: a review. Vet Microbiol 117:75-79, 2006.

“CORE” CANINE VACCINES *

· Distemper
· Adenovirus (Hepatitis)**
· Parvovirus
· Rabies
_______________________________________
* vaccines that every dog and cat should have
** immunity provided by a CAV-2 vaccine

CANINE VACCINE ADVERSE EVENTS *

· retrospective cohort study; 1.25 million dogs vaccinated at 360 veterinary hospitals
· 38 adverse events per 10,000 dogs vaccinated
· inversely related to dog weight
· vaccines prescribed on a 1-dose-fits-all basis, rather than by body weight.
· increased for dogs up to 2 yr of age, then declined
· greater for neutered versus sexually intact dogs
· increased as number of vaccines given together increased
· increased after the 3 rd or 4th vaccination
· genetic predisposition to adverse events documented
_____________________________________________________________
* from Moore et al, JAVMA 227:1102–1108, 2005


VACCINE CONCLUSIONS FOR CANINES *

Factors that increase risk of adverse events 3 days after vaccination:


· young adult age
· small-breed size
· neutering
· multiple vaccines given per visit

These risks should be communicated to clients
_______________________________________________________

* from Moore et al, JAVMA 227:1102–1108, 2005

[SummerRiot]

As much as I'm not a huge fan of vaccinations, Riot will always be getting his Rabies vaccine every 3 years, along with all of our other animals.

Riot will be titered from now on for distemper/parvo and won't be getting those vaccines.

Only because a titre will not always allow you to cross the border, a titre will not hold up in small claims court IF by chance your dog bites someone as well. (here anyways).

I'm not sure what legality is in other provinces/countries though.

I hmmed and hawed about boostering him for Rabies (as much as I hate it since in humans the rabies vaccine can last up to a lifetime. I have my vaccine due to the position of work I have, and I'm due for my titre this year).

(I had only read the first half of your post.. so i'm going to go back and read the rest when I have time.. so i'm sorry if I repeat anything in it )

[coraggio]

Thank you for this information Mikki.

Vaccines are an incredible benefit to our pets, and I am diligent about haveing my pets vaccinated. But I strongly suspect that vaccinations can promote autoimmune problems and that vaccine scedules should be carefully planned for individual dogs.

Lana was vaccinated at 4 weeks and 8 weeks. Then I took her in for vaccination at 12 weeks and she had a very bad reaction. No appetite that evening, wakeing me up at night to be let out, and watery diarrhea on the stairs before we made it outside. Lana took about a week to recover. Then back for her 16 weeks shots and I was very nervous since she's been so sick. I saw the surgeon since Lana's regular vet had an emergency and wasn't in that day. I expressed my concerns since Lana had reacated so badly to her last vaccination. The vet told me to give her benadryl and he injected her with not just her booster but her rabies too. No, he did NOT ask permission to give rabies at that time, nor was it on her chart. I was furious, but it was too late.

So was Lana's reaction caused by the vaccination, or did she have an underlying problem that the vaccination triggered? Really, I have no way of knowing. Lots of dogs would have been fine with some extra vaccination. Others would be damaged. I suspect that Lana had some genetic predisposition to autoimmune problems, and that vaccines were a trigger. If she'd had titers as a puppy I might have avoided her problems. Or not. Just some food for thought.

I'm considering another puppy since Lana may not be able to do all the things I want to do with her. The one thing I'm going to insist upon is to give vaccines individually instead of the combination. That way I can do parvo, a high risk at 8 and 12 weeks. I can do a titer at 16 to see if the third shot is necessary. Distemper is lower risk for us, so I'm thinking on giving that, at 15 weeks. Same with the Adenovirus. Rabies would come as late as my vet will allow.

[carousel]

I would question why a breeder would vaccinate at 4 weeks? maybe someone else can explain it to me.
I did a lot of learning with the assistance of one of my vets to contacted some of the best vet schools in the country. The puppies just are NOT able to mount a useful immune response from a vaccine prior to about 6 weeks of age. Even then at 6 weeks is a very immature immune system. My Parvo puppies broke with Parvo at 5.5 weeks of age meaning they were exposed 4-7 days prior! I don't even think a vaccine would have made a difference. For whatever reason they did not have good maternal immunity.
I had a litter born at my house 6 weeks after I had a litter with Parvo. When we vaccinated these pups we did it at 7 weeks of age, a bit sooner than normal (I have normally vaccinated at give or take a day 8 weeks for first vaccine).
in the situation above we ran a parvo titer on the mommy dog, it was VERY strong. She had likely been exposed. But her puppies also likely had GREAT immunity!
My current litter will be vaccinated a day prior to 8 weeks of age with core vaccine.
Catherine

[Winter Glen Tervuren]

Thanks for posting this. I have been monitoring vaccine reactions for 15 plus yrs now since my old male had an anaphylactic reaction to rabies ~ probably due to a vet injecting it into a vein instead of a muscle. However, the temp changes I have seen with vaccines are really interesting. As a pharmacist, I wonder about what we do to people too. I appreciate you posting this again.

[Aleron]

My Parvo litter started with symptoms right about 6 weeks. I researched and researched the disease during and after that, wondering if I should be doing a different protocol (I tend to go with a less is more approach). In that research I did find suggestions of super early vaccination due to worry of Parvo. I know some breeders in my area who routinely vaccinate at 4-5 weeks because they feel it is the safest option. What I also found in my research is that there is a lot of misinformation about Parvo and vaccines out there. I had a chance to hear opinions and advice from multiple vets and some of them gave me what turned out to be misinformation.

I also found a lot of references made to puppies who develop symptoms of Parvo after being vaccinated but before developing immunity being more difficult to treat than unvaccinated puppies. In the end, I vaccinated the next litter I had at about 8 weeks for parvo only, as I had done with the other litters. What I did change the precautions we took with ourselves and any visitors - anyone entering the house had to follow a "puppy safety protocol" and I didn't allow the puppies to be in the big yard.

I can never understand the insistence so many vets have with revaccinating animals which have had reactions. IMO it seems obvious that an anaphylactic or acute reaction is a sign the animal's system can't tolerate the vaccine. There are also many vets who will continue to vaccinate dogs with auto-immune issues, despite it being strongly advised against by the experts in the field. I met a couple with a pet Belgian a few months ago who is 7 years old and has Lupus but continues to be given annual combo vaccines. Of course, they totally trust their vet and won't go against his suggestions.

Does anyone feel that Belgians may tend to be more sensitive to repeated exposure to chemicals, drugs, vaccines, etc than the average dog?

[stafinois]

I have no proof or scientific evidence to back it up, but it I have questions after working as a vet tech for nearly 13 years.

Most dogs tolerate vaccines just fine. The number of reactions that I saw were minuscule in comparison to how many dogs that we vaccinated. The same went for dog food. The vast majority of dogs do fine on Iams, Science Diet, Purina, and Pedigree, and live well into old age with no complications.

There is a movement towards feeding "better" foods, and less vaccines in the dog hobbyist community, often after their dogs or related dogs had reactions to vaccines or food. But, it seems that most don't twice about breeding these dogs that can't receive manufacturer recommendation scheduled vaccines or eat regular dog food. As a result, are we (dog community as a whole, no finger pointing intended) propagating the issue? Are we creating generations of dogs with immune and GI sensitives, and who knows what else? It makes me as a puppy buyer want to seek out pups of parents that eat regular ol' dog food and get vaccinated every year that are from generations of dogs that lived well into old age despite eating dog food and receiving vaccines every year.

[coraggio]

Aimee, you have succinctly explained two things. First, I asked about allergies and vaccine reactions in the lines when I considered taking Lana. Second, Lana is a lovely girl with a splendid working temperament. And she will not have puppies because it would be unethical to risk breeding a dog that might pass on a vulnerability to auto-immune problems.

Yep on all counts to what you said. Granted, I'll be careful with how I vaccinate in the future. You don't want to overvaccinate, but no two ways about it, vaccines save lives.

[Aleron]

Most dogs tolerate vaccines just fine. The number of reactions that I saw were minuscule in comparison to how many dogs that we vaccinated. The same went for dog food. The vast majority of dogs do fine on Iams, Science Diet, Purina, and Pedigree, and live well into old age with no complications.

I can't say the majority of dogs I see every day at the grooming shop are "doing fine" on regular food (Beneful and Ol' Roy seem most popular) and routine vaccination. A lot of them have ear, eye, skin, weight, dental and/or immune related health problems. I have noticed that a lot people feel that those things are fairly normal for dogs to have now and then though.

I bought a 14 month old dog from a breeder who felt her dogs did fine on feed mill kibble and lots of vaccines. At her age, she already had reoccurring ear infections and a couple hotspots, as did many of her relatives. She is now 12 years old and hasn't had a skin or ear problems in 10 years. She is actually in extremely good health for her age/breed now, doesn't look or act like an old dog. Shortly after she came to live here, I switched my dogs to raw food and stopped vaccinating the adults yearly.

My childhood Irish Setter lived to be 15 eating Dad's nearly his entire life and was routinely vaccinated, so many would say he did fine on cheap kibble and routine vaccines. But he had chronic ear infections and bad skin problems throughout his life. Maybe he wouldn't have lived longer with a better diet and more careful vaccination but he most likely would have been much healthier and happier.

There is a movement towards feeding "better" foods, and less vaccines in the dog hobbyist community, often after their dogs or related dogs had reactions to vaccines or food. But, it seems that most don't twice about breeding these dogs that can't receive manufacturer recommendation scheduled vaccines or eat regular dog food. As a result, are we (dog community as a whole, no finger pointing intended) propagating the issue? Are we creating generations of dogs with immune and GI sensitives, and who knows what else? It makes me as a puppy buyer want to seek out pups of parents that eat regular ol' dog food and get vaccinated every year that are from generations of dogs that lived well into old age despite eating dog food and receiving vaccines every year.

What about dogs would make them naturally able to tolerant routine exposure to more and more chemicals and vaccines? Or to be in perfect health being fed cheap processed food made with the by-products of the food industry?

I think it is hard to compare recent vaccine and care practices with those of the past. While dogs have been eating kibble for many years now, it used to be much more common place to add leftovers to the dog's food every night and offer them bones regularly. So their diet consisted of less processed foods on the whole than that of modern pet dogs, who's owners are warned against giving tablescraps (and owners aren't often eating as well themselves!). We also have far more vaccines in modern times than at any time in the past as well. Modern owners can go to the vet once a year and have their dogs vaccinated against 10+ diseases all at one time. And owners are now urged to use year round monthly Heartworm, year round monthly topical flea pesticide and to spay or neuter their dogs ASAP (with some clinics this is routinely done at 8-16 weeks old). At what point is it too much to expect even a healthy dog to be able to withstand?

[DuFeuBleu]

My 1st dog was Vxed twice and both times he had REALLY bad issues and we barely saved him. 1st time the vet told us it was not due to Vx but coincidental... yeah right... He made it by pure luck on the second set... Never again did we Vx him ... I can openly admit that back then we did not have titers, so we just had a fake certificate. It was better than killing our dog by Vx. He was also on raw. He died at 13 in the house fire and to that day he did not have one grey hair on him, he ran like he was 3 years old. That dog did not have one illness, ear infection or nothing like that since he almost died from Vx reaction. We also had hunting dogs and those also had minimal Vx protocol and on raw... lived well into their years.
I see close to 50 dogs at work each day, and I would not call it "doing well" on crap food. I call it "doing" on Ol'Roy. It keeps them alive, but when I see dogs with bad teeth, diabetes, terrible gas and the list goes on - I cannot help but recommend a different vet and a good diet. I cannot believe how much vaccines the vet in our building gives... I counted like 10 different things stuck in a puppy...and "no the bold spot on his ass was not a reaction at all... the dog just decided to eat itself... " attitudes...
Growing up, I remember dogs/cats living A LOT longer than they are doing now... Our family dogs, friends, teachers had dogs well into 17-19... eating raw and not going to the vet often... They did not die of cancer as much either, but I think its because we did not WHAT they died of...
My second dog, Sean - an Irish Setter, was raised the modern US style, so was my parents' kitten Tigger (Same age as Sean)... on kibble with a bunch of vaccines. Sean died at 3.5 due to Lymphoma, he had terrible GI, weight, ear issues all his life and I wish I would not feed him grocery kibble. He had issues from the start, but crap food and overly vaccinating did not help one bit. Tigger has diabetes and when our new vet heard he was on fancy feast she just about threw us out of her office. He its well now - still kibble, but not all kibbles are made equally. He is doing better just on a better food with less preservatives, sawdust and sugar.
My later cat Pizza was on raw for first 4 years - he was going outside and catching his own food though he was still offered kibble. He was 100% inside for 6 year on high quality kibble - doing great, and past 2 on raw + kibble. He ate as much of dog's raw as he wanted and then ate good kibble/canned. He was taken way too early by hemangiosarcoma 2 weeks ago. Forgot to mention... I vaccinated him 3 times in 12 years... I would call it every 4 year protocol... 1st time at 1 year when we got him, then when we moved and HAD to have paperwork, then when I worked at the vet and decided to do it again since I have not done it for a while...
Both of my belgians are on raw. At shows I see tartar on teeth by age 3. Brenna is going to be 3 in August and she has beautiful sparkly teeth. Logan is 18 months so she does not count yet.
My new monster aka kitten, came from a rescue/shelter who openly stated they spay/neuter early but dont Vx...Studies show higher risk of skin cancers at the site of vx in cats so it was our call what we do - they did not feel the need to impose it on us. The kitten was offered good kibble/canned and she chose to eat mostly raw... She eats some kibble but VERY little in comparison to meat she crunches down. When we brought her home on shelter food (cheap) I needed a respirator to clean her box... 2 weeks on mostly raw and she does not stink.

Which brings me to a cross-thread. Are we using product on dogs to make better coat, when all we have to do is feed them better food? I hope thats the case
My friend has a terv who would not gain weight... he had thyroid checked and a bunch of metabolic functinons. By not gaining weight I mean starvation case eating 8-10 cups of high protein kibble (they tried eagle pack, pro plan and bunch of other stuff). I nagged at her for 6 months to get him on raw. 3 months and he was in show weight. So now I nag at her for not listening sooner. He is starting to grow in coat too! He was so skinny he could not even have a coat on him. Now he is blossoming and going back into showring. Now... she is not breeding him because there is something off in his system... its a just in case thing. I believe that my dogs have a much better odds of being healthy than my clients' who feed crap... I dont think that selecting for ability to digest crap and survive should be prioritized... its like selecting humans who can eat McD's... I travel on apples and cheese because I cannot eat fast food... I dont think there is anything wrong with me - my body is more natural and too smart to eat crap