ALABAMA Rabies Law

[Kris Christine]

Alabama pet owners not wanting their state to be the only one in the country with an annual rabies booster requirement for dogs and cats have begun requesting their Legislators to change the law to conform to the national 3 year standard. Below is a copy of my letter to the Alabama Public Health Veterinarian and State Health Officer on behalf of The Rabies Challenge Fund and the Alabama pet owners who have contacted us.

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What You Can Do to Help:

Contact your legislator and ask them to introduce legislation to change Alabama Code Title 3 Chapter 7A-2 to conform to the 3 year protocol recommended by the National Association of State Public Health Veterinarians Rabies Compendium, including a medical exemption clause for sick animals, and ask your pet-owning friends to do the same.

Alabama Legislature: You can find contact information for your Senator and Representative at the following link: Welcome to the Alabama State Legislature

February 25, 2009

Dr. Dee Jones Dr. Donald E. Williamson
State Public Health Veterinarian State Health Officer
Department of Health Department of Health
201 Monroe Street, P.O. Box 303017 201 Monroe Street, P.O. Box 303017
Montgomery, AL 36104 Montgomery, AL 36104

RE: Alabama Code Title 3 Chapter 7A-2--Dogs and Cats to be Immunized

With the recent passage of Act 159 paving the way for Arkansas to conform to the national 3 year rabies immunization standard, Alabama has become the only state in the country to adhere to a now outdated annual rabies vaccination requirement for dogs and cats.

Title 3 Chapter 7A-2 of the Alabama Code mandating annual rabies vaccinations is counter to the recommendations of the American Veterinary Medical Association [1] and the Center for Disease Control’s National Association of State Public Health Veterinarian’s Compendium of Animal Rabies Prevention and Control 2008 which states that, “Vaccines used in state and local rabies control programs should have at least a 3-year duration of immunity. This constitutes the most effective method of increasing the proportion of immunized dogs and cats in any population (50).” They specifically warn that, “no laboratory or epidemiologic data exist to support the annual or biennial administration of 3- or 4-year vaccines following the initial series.”

It is recognized that most, if not all, currently licensed annual rabies vaccines given annually are actually the 3-year vaccine relabeled for annual use -- Colorado State University's Small Animal Vaccination Protocol for its veterinary teaching hospital states: “Even with rabies vaccines, the label may be misleading in that a three year duration of immunity product may also be labeled and sold as a one year duration of immunity product.” According to Dr. Ronald Schultz of the University of Wisconsin School of Veterinary Medicine, whose canine vaccine studies form a large part of the scientific base for the 2003 and 2006 American Animal Hospital Association’s (AAHA) Canine Vaccine Guidelines, as well as the World Small Animal Veterinary Association’s 2007 Vaccine Guidelines, “There is no benefit from annual rabies vaccination and most one year rabies products are similar or identical to the 3-year products with regard to duration of immunity and effectiveness.” [2]

Alabama’s code requiring annual rabies boosters may have been intended to achieve enhanced immunity to the rabies virus by giving the vaccine more often than the federal 3-year licensing standard, but, more frequent vaccination than is required to fully immunize an animal will not achieve further disease protection. Redundant annual rabies shots needlessly expose dogs and cats to the risk of adverse effects while obligating residents to pay unnecessary veterinary medical fees. The American Veterinary Medical Association's 2001 Principles of Vaccination state that “Unnecessary stimulation of the immune system does not result in enhanced disease resistance, and may increase the risk of adverse post-vaccination events.” The current rabies immunization code may violate Title 8 Section 8-19-5 of Alabama’s Consumer Protection Law by requiring pet owners to pay for a yearly veterinary medical procedure from which their animals derive no benefit and may be harmed.

Immunologically, the rabies vaccine is the most potent of the veterinary vaccines and associated with significant adverse reactions such as polyneuropathy “resulting in muscular atrophy, inhibition or interruption of neuronal control of tissue and organ function, incoordination, and weakness,”[3] auto-immune hemolytic anemia,[4] autoimmune diseases affecting the thyroid, joints, blood, eyes, skin, kidney, liver, bowel and central nervous system; anaphylactic shock; aggression; seizures; epilepsy; and fibrosarcomas at injection sites are all linked to the rabies vaccine.[5] [6] It is medically unsound for this vaccine to be given more often than is necessary to maintain immunity.

A “killed” vaccine, the rabies vaccine contains adjuvants to enhance the immunological response. In 1999, the World Health Organization “classified veterinary vaccine adjuvants as Class III/IV carcinogens with Class IV being the highest risk,"[7] and the results of a study published in the August 2003 Journal of Veterinary Medicine documenting fibrosarcomas at the presumed injection sites of rabies vaccines stated, “In both dogs and cats, the development of necrotizing panniculitis at sites of rabies vaccine administration was first observed by Hendrick & Dunagan (1992).” [8] According to the 2003 AAHA Guidelines, "...killed vaccines are much more likely to cause hypersensitivity reactions (e.g., immune-mediated disease)." [9]

The labels on rabies vaccines state that they are for “the vaccination of healthy cats, dogs…,” and there are medical conditions for which vaccination can jeopardize the life or well-being of an animal. A medical exemption clause inserted into Title 3 Chapter 7A-2 would allow veterinarians to write waivers for animals for whom medical conditions preclude vaccination. The State of Maine inserted such an exemption into the 3 year rabies protocol, 7 M.R.S.A., Sec. 3922(3), it adopted in 2004 as follows:

A. A letter of exemption from vaccination may be submitted for licensure, if a medical reason exists that precludes the vaccination of the dog. Qualifying letters must be in the form of a written statement, signed by a licensed veterinarian, that includes a description of the dog, and the medical reason that precludes vaccination. If the medical reason is temporary, the letter shall indicate a time of expiration of the exemption.


B. A dog exempted under the provisions of paragraph 5 A, above, shall be considered unvaccinated, for the purposes of 10-144 C.M.R. Ch.251, Section 7(B)(1), (Rules Governing Rabies Management) in the case of said dog’s exposure to a confirmed or suspect rabid animal.

On behalf of The Rabies Challenge Fund and the many Alabama pet owners who have contacted us with concerns about the state’s annual rabies booster requirement for dogs and cats, we strongly urge you to change Title 3 Chapter 7A-2 of the Alabama Code to conform to the 3-year national standard recommended by the Center for Disease Control’s National Association of State Public Health Veterinarians and endorsed by the American Veterinary Medical Association. We also respectfully request that medical exemption language be inserted into the code.

Sincerely,
Kris L. Christine
Founder, Co-Trustee
THE RABIES CHALLENGE FUND
About the Rabies Challenge Fund

cc: Governor Bob Riley
Attorney General Troy King
Alabama Legislature
Dr. Tony Frazier, State Veterinarian
Dr. Terry Slaten, Associate State Veterinarian
Dr. W. Jean Dodds
Dr. Ronald D. Schultz

CONTINUED BELOW

[Kris Christine]

CONTINUED FROM ABOVE

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[1] American Veterinary Medical Association, Veterinary Biologics, June 2007, “Rabies Vaccination Procedures”

[2] Schultz, Ronald D.; What Everyone Needs to Know about Canine Vaccines, October 2007, What Everyone Needs to Know About Canine Vaccines

[3] Dodds, W. Jean Vaccination Protocols for Dogs Predisposed to Vaccine Reactions, The Journal of the American Animal Hospital Association, May/June 2001, Vol. 37, pp. 211-214

[4] Duval D., Giger U.Vaccine-Associated Immune-Mediated Hemolytic Anemia in the Dog, Journal of Veterinary Internal Medicine 1996; 10:290-295

[5] American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) Executive Board, April 2001, Principles of Vaccination, Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association, Volume 219, No. 5, September 1, 2001.

[6] Vascelleri, M. Fibrosarcomas at Presumed Sites of Injection in Dogs: Characteristics and Comparison with Non-vaccination Site Fibrosarcomas and Feline Post-vaccinal Fibrosarcomas; Journal of Veterinary Medicine, Series A August 2003, vol. 50, no. 6, pp. 286-291.

[7] IARC Monographs on the Evaluation of Carcinogenic Risks to Humans: Volume 74, World Health Organization, International Agency for Research on Cancer, Feb. 23-Mar. 2, 1999, p. 24, 305, 310.

[8] Vascelleri, M. Fibrosarcomas at Presumed Sites of Injection in Dogs: Characteristics and Comparison with Non-vaccination Site Fibrosarcomas and Feline Post-vaccinal Fibrosarcomas; Journal of Veterinary Medicine, Series A August 2003, vol. 50, no. 6, pp. 286-291.

[9] American Animal Hospital Association Canine Vaccine Task Force. 2003 Canine Vaccine Guidelines, Recommendations, and Supporting Literature, 28pp. and ibid. 2006 AAHA Canine Vaccine Guidelines, Revised, 28 pp.

[Sweetlips6]

Tennessee also has a yearly rabies requirement

[Kris Christine]

Sweetlips6,

Actually, that is not correct, Tennessee State Law allows for a 3 year vaccine (4 for cats as there is a 4 year feline rabies vaccine licensed by Intervet) is as below. If you have any questions about it, you can contact the Tennessee Public Health Veterinarian, Dr. John Dunn, Tennessee Department of Health John.Dunn@state.tn.us Phone: 615.741.7247

Kris

Title 68 Chapter 8 tennessee.gov/sos/acts/103/pub/pc0765.pdf

Tennessee’s state anti-rabies law, Title 68 Chapter 8 Section 103 (i) declares that “Nothing in this section shall be construed to require more frequent rabies vaccinations or a greater number of rabies vaccinations than are required by the rabies compendium,” and defines the “compendium” under Section 102 (3) as “the most recent issue of the national ‘Compendium of Animal Rabies Prevention and Control’ published by the Association of State Public Health Veterinarians..”

The National Association of State Public Health Veterinarian’s (NASPHV) Compendium of Rabies Prevention and Control Compendium of Animal Rabies Prevention and Control, 2008* </P><P>National Association of State Public Health Veterinarians, Inc. (NASPHV) promulgated in Tennessee’s anti-rabies law declares that “All vaccines must be administered in accordance with the specifications of the product label or package insert. …. Vaccines used in state and local rabies control programs should have at least a 3-year duration of immunity. ….. No laboratory or epidemiologic data exist to support the annual or biennial administration of 3- or 4-year vaccines following the initial series.”

[Wylie's Mom]

This is very important legislation for pets. ALABAMANS, or, ALABAMITES, or, ALABAMINIONS - PLEASE contact your legislators, for the health of your babies!

[lilroxy]

Kris,

I love the whole idea and I will join you in contacting my state Senator and Rep. As a matter of fact we have an election going on up in the Northern part of the state. Its for an open Senate seat, I believe. I would like to hear what the candidates have to say about this and I may email them also

[BamaFan121s]

Originally Posted by Wylie's Mom

This is very important legislation for pets. ALABAMANS, or, ALABAMITES, or, ALABAMINIONS - PLEASE contact your legislators, for the health of your babies!

Alabamians. Although Alabamites is very fun to say.

Thanks for the info, I will definately add my .02 on the subject. I noted when I got one of mine their rabies shot a few months ago, they are now putting pics of your pet on the certificate. So no passing off one dog's records for another.

My experience over the past year with issues that relate have indicated that the appropriate officials really couldn't care less if the dog has been vaccinated or not...even during instances when it SHOULD be concern, much less when your dog is just chillin' at your casa.

[Wylie's Mom]

Originally Posted by BamaFan121s

Alabamians. Although Alabamites is very fun to say.

LOL - none of my guesses were correct ! Maybe close though.

[Kris Christine]

I cannot emphasize enough how important it is for concerned Alabama residents to contact their Legislators about changing the rabies law is. If they don't hear from the public, it won't get done.

The move to change Alabama's rabies law was covered in a story Thursday night on ABC 33/40 NEWS 2/26/09 by Ebony Hall Yearly Shots Necessary? Videos | ABC 33/40 News .

[Sweetlips6]

Sorry, I guess I was confused by the answer I received at the Vet's office.
I asked if it were required to get a rabies vac annually, and was told yes, the State requires an annual vac.

I called back today and asked again. I quoted the info you sent and was told they only use a one year vac.

So, should I look for a vet that offers the 3-year vac?

[Wylie's Mom]

Originally Posted by Sweetlips6

Sorry, I guess I was confused by the answer I received at the Vet's office. I asked if it were required to get a rabies vac annually, and was told yes, the State requires an annual vac.

I called back today and asked again. I quoted the info you sent and was told they only use a one year vac.

So, should I look for a vet that offers the 3-year vac?

The one year vac and the 3 year vac are the exact same thing, they are just labeled differently. It's true.

[Kris Christine]

Originally Posted by Sweetlips6

I quoted the info you sent and was told they only use a one year vac. So, should I look for a vet that offers the 3-year vac?

Absolutely, you should look for another vet! You can find a homeopathic/holistic veterinarian near you at these links American Holistic Veterinary Medical Association AHVMA - American Holistic Veterinary Medical Association, Academy of Veterinary Homeopathy The Academy of Veterinary Homeopathy .

Wylie's Mom is correct about the 1 and 3 year rabies vaccine -- according to the experts, it is the same thing in terms of efficacy and duration of immunity, and often times it is literally the same identical product as the 3 year relabeled for 1 year use (which the USDA allows).

[Kris Christine]

Originally Posted by Sweetlips6

Sorry, I guess I was confused by the answer I received at the Vet's office.
I asked if it were required to get a rabies vac annually, and was told yes, the State requires an annual vac.

Sweetlips6,

Your vet gave you false information, Tennesse state law does not require annual rabies shots (see information below). If you have a question about it, contact the state Public Health Veterinarian, Dr. John Dunn, John.Dunn@state.tn.us Phone: 615.741.7247 .

Title 68 Chapter 8 tennessee.gov/sos/acts/103/pub/pc0765.pdf

Tennessee’s state anti-rabies law, Title 68 Chapter 8 Section 103 (i) declares that “Nothing in this section shall be construed to require more frequent rabies vaccinations or a greater number of rabies vaccinations than are required by the rabies compendium,” and defines the “compendium” under Section 102 (3) as “the most recent issue of the national ‘Compendium of Animal Rabies Prevention and Control’ published by the Association of State Public Health Veterinarians..”

The National Association of State Public Health Veterinarian’s (NASPHV) Compendium of Rabies Prevention and Control
http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/rr5702a1.htm
promulgated in Tennessee’s anti-rabies law declares that “All vaccines must be administered in accordance with the specifications of the product label or package insert. …. Vaccines used in state and local rabies control programs should have at least a 3-year duration of immunity. ….. No laboratory or epidemiologic data exist to support the annual or biennial administration of 3- or 4-year vaccines following the initial series.”

[Kris Christine]

Alabama Rabies Law

Senate Bill #469 sponsored by Senator Larry Dixon Alabama Legislative Information System Online was introduced on March 5, 2009 to amend Alabama Code Title 3 Section 7A-2 to conform to the 3 year rabies protocol and include a medical exemption clause for animals whose well-being would be jeopardized by rabies vaccination.

The bill has been assigned to the Senate Health Committee.

What You Can Do to Help

Contact the Senate Health Committee members lindacoleman60@bellsouth.net; senbutler@aol.com; senbedford@aol.com; larry.dixon@alsenate.gov; steve.french@alsenate.gov; legislator@mclo.org; myronpenn28@hotmail.com; qtross2002@hotmail.com; harriannesmith@graceba.net; zeb@zeblittlelawfirm.com; jabo.waggoner@alsenate.gov and ask them to pass SB #469

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[Ashley V]

I just wanted to say that Alabama is not the only one with a annual rabies shot law thing. Virginia does too and we have to get our dogs registered with our county every year when they get their rabies shot or provide them with titer's results.