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Originally Posted by Ellie May  I'm on the fence about titers because they really don't show the whole picture.
They may be okay if you don't want to vaccinate every year but there is still quite a bit of room for overvaccinating because they don't show cellular immunity. Besides, humoral immunity does automatically drop as time passes from getting the vaccine. That is normal.
This is what has happened with Ellie and should explain why titers are not the answer all of the time:
Vaccinated for too many things (including distemper) in 2006
Titered (parvo and distemper) 2007
Parvo fine. Distemper too low (1:16)
Boostered distemper
Titered (parvo and distemper) 2008
Parvo falling but okay. Distemper 1:32 consider booster by 2009.
She most likely did respond to the distemper vaccine because the titer did go up. It is still quite low though. Do I revaccinate because a titer says so or do I go with what makes sense and trust that she is protected for at least 3-7 years? I for one don't believe that a Yorkie needs distemper every other year, so we will see. The point is, we can't see her cellular immunity, so I am even more stuck then if I would have just chosen the AAHA 3-year protocol. |
Please take this with a grain of salt - my guess is that Ellie May is protected for both Distemper and Parvo, but with her compromised immune system, continued vaccination only has the ability to make everything worse. Personally, I would not continue to vaccinate, but go with what makes sense and based on all the new protocols - that is a minimum of 7 year protection.
With Sissy's early stage PLE, I'm not vaccinating again. In fact, she is due for Rabies this year - but I'm asking the vet to hold off until I see more normal blood test results. I'm very fortunate that my vet agrees with Dr. Dodd's protocol and DOES NOT recommend titers since they do not adequately tell the whole story.