From what I've read, thymersol was used as a preservative in dog vaccines until 1992. Now aluminum is used. As I poster earlier, rabies is one vaccine we all have to get from a vet (to satisfy legal requirements) and that is a multi-dose vaccine which would have preservatives. Single dose vaccines do not require preservatives. Here's some other interesting info that may relate to vaccinations........" Procedure—The proportion of diagnoses of CPSS was calculated for all dogs and each breed recorded in the VMDB annually and for the 22.2-year period. Odds ratios and adjusted confidence intervals were calculated for breeds with at least 100 accessions by comparing odds of each breed with a diagnosis of CPSS with that of mixed-breed dogs.
Results—Congenital portosystemic shunts were reported in 0.18% of all dogs and 0.05% of mixedbreed dogs. The proportion of diagnoses of CPSS increased from 5 in 10,000 dogs in 1980 to 5 in 1,000 dogs in 2001. Yorkshire Terriers had the greatest total number of diagnoses of CPSS. Thirty-three breeds were significantly more likely to have a diagnosis of CPSS, compared with mixed-breed dogs. The greatest proportions of diagnoses were found in Havanese (3.2%), Yorkshire Terriers (2.9%), Maltese (1.6%), Dandie Dinmont Terriers (1.6%), and Pugs (1.3%)"..........How does this relate to vaccinations? Look at the extremely low incidence in LS in mixed breeds. Though you have to do a bit of assuming, It's probably safe to say that mixed breeds are less likely to have been vaccinated yearly though surely some are. Another glaring statistic is the increase in incidence from 1980 to 2001. This roughly correlates with the increased use of vaccines in general....in other words, more people are taking better care of their dogs, going to the vet and getting the 'annual vaccines' which has been the protocol during that time and still is for many vets. The highest percentage of LS mentioned is among toy breeds which are, in general, more sensitive to vaccines overall. Vaccines, by their nature, provoke an auto-immune response. Could not this constant provoking of the immune response over time create chromosonal damage that could cause conditions (especially in pups of over-vaccinated dogs) that appear to be genetic? In the case of LS, it is suspected to be genetic but no marker has yet been found. If you take generation after generation of dogs and over-vaccinate them, could not the cumulative effect of this show up as apparent 'genetic flaws' such as LS, heart murmers and arrhythmia, collapsed tracheas, etc. which are all essentially developmental problems. Like I posted before, I'm just trying to connect the dots. In the case of LS, as posted above from an article by Dr. Tobias, the increased incidence of LS goes hand in hand with the increased use of vaccines among dogs. Coincidence?
