[MyFairLacy]

I've been doing some research this week about vaccines, common diseases, and dangers of overvaccination. I wanted to share a website I've found with interesting information.

I'm mostly been looking at cat diseases tonight as my youngest kitty (1 year old) is almost due for her yearly exam and possible vaccinations. I'm trying to decide what I want to vaccinate for, if I decide to vaccinate at all. Of course I plan to actually speak to a few veterinarians in person before I decide for sure though. I'll be looking into dog vaccines more later as well.

Anyway, I found a lot of interesting articles on www.truthaboutvaccines.org

I think this articles has a lot of interesting information and opinions from a Holistic Vet. It's geared towards cats but talks about vaccines in general and mentions dogs as well. http://www.holisticat.com/vaccinations.html A few excepts of interest to me...

About Titers
immunologic memory lasts for years (usually for the life of the individual). This memory is not dependent upon titers, nor do titer levels always accurately indicate the immune status. A titer is a reflection of the quantity of circulating antibodies (immunoglobulins) to a given antigen (in this case, an organism). Cells in the body produce the antibody. These cells retain the ability to produce antibodies toward a given antigen for quite a long time, usually for life. Upon re-exposure, they can produce antibody within forty-eight hours. As a consequence of this capability, there is no need for the body to expend the energy needed to maintain circulating antibodies. A low or absent titer, therefore, does not mean the body is unprotected. The body may simply have cells ready to act, like firefighters playing cards until they are needed. When booster vaccines are administered, antibodies destroy the vaccine particles before they can augment the immunity, and nothing is accomplished.

An interesting theory about the rabies vaccine causing aggression
Another vaccine that induces great anguish for guardian and companion is the rabies vaccine. I see many cases of fear and aggression that stem from rabies vaccination. If you consider the nature of rabies, this might not surprise you. It appears we are introducing chronic rabies into our animals by injecting rabies virus particles into their bodies. How, you may wonder, could inactivated virus induce illness? Apparently, the ability to affect change is not contingent upon the quality of aliveness, as we understand the concept. In fact, viruses are on the border between living and non-living; they require another organism to reproduce and thrive; otherwise they are little more than a chemical compound with the potential to alter the metabolism of their hosts.

There are four criteria that are at the center of any vaccine decision. One should only consider administering a vaccine if all four criteria are met:

1. The disease is serious, even life threatening.

2. The animal is or will be exposed to the disease.

3. The vaccine for the disease is known to be effective.

4. The vaccine for the disease is considered safe.