Originally Posted by jp4m2  I understand your ambivalence when it comes with making the decision as to allow the administration of a vaccine or not. If you don't allow the administration and the disease is contracted you feel guilt. If you do allow the administration and an adverse reaction should occur there is guilt.
All we can do is do our research and do what is best without letting fears guide us.
You could call your state health dept. and see how many cases have been reported in your area. Some area are higher risk for Lepto than others. For instance in Texas Lepto cases are very rare. Dr. Schultz lives in an area that would be considered high risk, but he still does not administer this vaccine.
According to Dr. Schultz there are too many negatives to allow this vaccine to be given.:
There are over 200 different strains of Lepto but there are only four available vaccine serovars of leptospirosis: L. Canicola, L. Gripophytosa, L. Icterohemorrhagiae, and L.Pomona. However, there are two more that are causing disease in dogs, L.Autumnalis and L. Bratislava, for which we have no vaccines.
This vaccine has more adverse effects reported than all other canine vaccines combined...Anaphylaxis, anorexia, fever, dehydration, autoimmune disease, digestive issues, limping, loud vocalization following vaccination, acute organ failure, renal failure (within 48 hours of injection), liver failure, pancreatitis, death, dermatitis, puritis, cancer, degeneration of soft tissue: all of these have been reported following administration of the Leptospira vaccine.
Immunity to bacteria is only temporary. So the immunity will always wear off over time, sometimes in less than a year. This means that you have to repeatedly vaccinate for leptospirosis in order to maintain immunity. Repeated vaccination of course increases the chances there will be an adverse reaction.
The vaccine causes shedding of the bacteria into the environment which makes them a risk to other animals and people,Lepto is transmissible to humans.
Lepto vaccines do not protect the dog from infection with Lepto. In the Canine Health Concern vaccine survey, 100% of dogs with Leptospirosis contracted it just after being vaccinated against it
Once vaccinated, the patient’s serum can no longer be a useful record for diagnostic tests, as the serum antibody titer from the vaccine cannot be distinguished from antibody caused by natural infection. This leads to interpretation problems when trying to diagnose the presence of infection or disease.
Maybe a better defense against Lepto other than vaccination is awareness. Familiarize yourself with the symptoms of Lepto: fever, joint pain, and general malaise, loss appetite, vomiting, diarrhea,increased water consumption and urine output while others may have a decreasing output of urine. The organism settles in the kidneys and begins to reproduce, leading to further inflammation and then kidney failure. Antibiotic treatment is quickly effective for Lepto, Doxycycline is the antibiotic of choice. |