Quote:
Originally Posted by Ellie May  Thanks so much Kris.
Inquiring minds need to know these things. ;)
Now for more questions. Dr. Schultz says an antibody negative dog should be revaccinated for CDV. How low can the titer go before needing to do this? 1:0? 1:1? Then I am reading that Dr. Dodds says a dog vaccinated after the immune system is fully mature doesn't need revaccination but then why are we titering? Why recommend titers when it is thought that the DOI is lifelong? It just seems a bit confusing to say yes we should titer and vaccinate when the titers are low and then at the same time say that if they are vaccinated (MLV) after 6 months, they never need to be again.:confused: And then I am hearing that Dr. Schultz thinks these things last for life but says if there is a very low CDV titer, revaccinate. How can it go both ways?
What are we missing? |
Ellie May,
Dr. Schultz's quote says that for canine distemper (CDV) if the dog is antibody negative, which would be 1:0, then he recommends revaccination. He does
not recommend revaccination for a low titer count, only a negative one. I know from speaking with him that if there is no antibody titer count after a second vaccination, then he would consider the dog to be a non-responder to that particular vaccine and would see no point to revaccinating a third time. (Wolf hybrids are considered non-responders to the rabies vaccine.)
Ultimately, we all have to make decisions for our precious ones based on our own personal comfort levels, and titers can help us with those decisions. Let me give you an example from our family's experience. After his 1 year rabies booster, Butter suffered severe, life-threatening seizures for months. When he was due for his 3 year booster, our vet said he qualified for a medical exemption. Because rabies is endemic in our area (literally in our backyard), we chose to have a rabies titer done, and when his came back at 1:28, which we felt was too low despite the fact that the World Health Organization deems 1:5 as conferring immunity for humans, and we had him boostered.
It's interesting that we don't have our children titered after vaccination, and thus do not have the anxiety associated with making booster choices. Part of the reason for that is there is much more epidemiological vigilance with human vaccines than with veterinary vaccines.