Over Vaccinating?

[KellyV]

Still vaccinating your pet every year?
That may not be necessary and could even cause harm
By Kim Campbell Thornton
Special to MSNBC.com

Vaccinations have saved many pets' lives over the years, but they aren't without risk. Now, with new research showing that immunity may last longer than once thought, veterinary experts say it's safer to decrease the frequency of most shots that typically have been given every year.

Side effects from vaccinations range from mild itching and swelling to anaphylactic shock leading to death. Cats may develop vaccine sarcomas, which are cancers that develop at the site of the injection. And dogs may develop certain autoimmune diseases.

Veterinarians have suspected for years that annual vaccinations for cats and dogs aren’t necessary, but large, well-controlled studies just didn’t exist to prove it one way or the other. With the exception of rabies vaccine, the U.S. Department of Agriculture doesn’t require data beyond one year for any vaccine.

With that being the case, vaccine manufacturers arbitrarily recommended annual vaccinations, and most veterinarians, concerned about liability issues, concurred.

Sometimes immunity lasts a lifetime
More recently, however, several published studies have shown that immunity provided by some vaccines lasts for much longer than one year and in some cases for a lifetime.

"We know that for [canine] distemper and parvo, for example, the immunity lasts a minimum of five years, probably seven to nine years, and for some individuals for a lifetime,” says veterinarian Jean Dodds, founder of Hemopet, the first nonprofit national blood bank program for animals, located in Santa Monica, Calif.

“For cats, so far we have challenge data out nine years showing that immunity is still protective," says Dodds. And with rabies vaccine, new data indicate the immunity lasts for at least seven years, she says.

What does all this mean for your dog or cat? As with many other aspects of veterinary medicine, vaccinations are becoming individualized, but in most cases, fewer and less frequent vaccinations are the way to go. Most animals need only what are known as core vaccines: those that protect against the most common and most serious diseases. In dogs, the core vaccines are distemper, parvovirus, hepatitis and rabies. In cats, they are panleukopenia, calicivirus, rhinotracheitis (herpesvirus), and rabies as required by law.

Three-year interval recommended
“Current vaccine protocol is to properly immunize puppies and kittens with two or three doses, starting later than we used to, maybe at eight weeks and not earlier than six weeks,” Dodds says. “Then you can give a booster at one year and either repeat it every three years, stagger it by giving one vaccine per year instead of combination vaccines, or do titers instead.” Titers are tests that measure the level of antibodies in the blood, which would indicate that immunity still exists.

That recommended three-year interval was a compromise decision. “Annual boosters for the core vaccinations are excessive for most dogs and cats,” says veterinarian Link Welborn of North Bay Animal and Bird Hospital in Tampa, Fla., and a member of the most recent panel of veterinarians that revised vaccination guidelines for dogs and cats. “Limited studies suggest that booster vaccinations for many of the core vaccinations last for at least seven years. However, given the limited number of animals involved in these studies, three years seemed like a reasonable compromise.”

There’s also an advantage to giving single rather than combination vaccines. “Giving more vaccinations increases the likelihood of side effects,” Welborn says. “Separating vaccinations allows the veterinarian to determine which vaccine caused a side effect if one occurs.”

If you’re concerned that your dog or cat will develop a vaccine-related health problem, but you want to make sure they’re protected against disease, annual titers are an economical alternative.

They’re reliable and costs are comparable to those for vaccinations. For instance, at Canyon Animal Hospital in Laguna Beach, Calif., the rate for a combination distemper/parvo titer is $39. If the dog turns out to need a vaccination, it’s given at no additional charge. Titers are also available for cats.

Consider changing veterinarians if yours claims that titers are too expensive to perform, charges $50 or more for them or wants to vaccinate because a titer level is “too low.”

“Any measurable titer to a specific antigen means you’ve got immune memory cells,” Dodds says.

Skip the annual exam, too?
So do these new recommendations mean that your dog or cat no longer needs an annual veterinary exam? Don’t get your hopes up.

The physical exam your veterinarian performs is far more important than vaccinations. In a recent study on longevity, 16 percent of dogs and 20 percent of cats were found to have subclinical — meaning signs weren’t yet obvious — diseases that were diagnosed through an exam and routine lab work.

“Many people, because the animal is living with them, don’t notice subtle changes in the behavior or the clinical state of the animal that a veterinarian would notice,” Dodds says.

Welborn likes to see veterinarians and pet owners working together to perform an annual lifestyle risk assessment. That means looking at the animal’s environment and habits to decide whether it needs such non-core vaccines as those for feline leukemia or Lyme disease or canine cough (probably not, unless the exposure risk is high) and whether it needs changes in diet or exercise levels to prevent obesity and its attendant problems, which include arthritis and diabetes.

“Care should be individualized for each pet,” Welborn says. “The days of treating all dogs and cats the same are gone.”



© 2006 MSNBC Interactive
URL: http://msnbc.msn.com/id/8572826/

[megan_kat22]

great post

[Dan & Corinne]

I'm very careful with vaccinations too. Jazzie get a Titer test before vaccinations to check if a booster is needed or not. The only one I can't get around is the rabies.

I figure she need a blood test at least once a year for routine check up so I have the vet add the titer when they draw the blood.

[Baby Blessing]

Originally Posted by Dan & Corinne

I'm very careful with vaccinations too. Jazzie get a Titer test before vaccinations to check if a booster is needed or not. The only one I can't get around is the rabies.

I figure she need a blood test at least once a year for routine check up so I have the vet add the titer when they draw the blood.

Hi Corrine and Dan,
think about you two so much, hope you both are doing well. I feel like you do about the vaccinations and wish we could get around the rabie one
Baby Blessing got micro chipped this morning, that was not pleasant she really yelped. she also got the rabbie shot cause after the food problem the vet said to wait till now to do the rabbie and the micro, she has not been herself all day and just snuggles and wants to sleep. She definately is not herself, feel so bad for her. Is there states that don't require the rabies? My sis in Missouri said they don't have to get dog license there. Looks like the mandatory spay/neuter has gone into effect in LA county, what do you think about the mandatory issue? I hear it is going to be pushed to be made mandatory in all the cities too. Keeping you in our prayers, Patti

[Skittles_Momma]

Good article. Ok, how do you pronounce titer? I'm gonna call my vet and ask about this. Skittles is due for her "yearly" shots.

Originally Posted by KellyV

Still vaccinating your pet every year?
That may not be necessary and could even cause harm
By Kim Campbell Thornton
Special to MSNBC.com

Vaccinations have saved many pets' lives over the years, but they aren't without risk. Now, with new research showing that immunity may last longer than once thought, veterinary experts say it's safer to decrease the frequency of most shots that typically have been given every year.

Side effects from vaccinations range from mild itching and swelling to anaphylactic shock leading to death. Cats may develop vaccine sarcomas, which are cancers that develop at the site of the injection. And dogs may develop certain autoimmune diseases.

Veterinarians have suspected for years that annual vaccinations for cats and dogs aren’t necessary, but large, well-controlled studies just didn’t exist to prove it one way or the other. With the exception of rabies vaccine, the U.S. Department of Agriculture doesn’t require data beyond one year for any vaccine.

With that being the case, vaccine manufacturers arbitrarily recommended annual vaccinations, and most veterinarians, concerned about liability issues, concurred.

Sometimes immunity lasts a lifetime
More recently, however, several published studies have shown that immunity provided by some vaccines lasts for much longer than one year and in some cases for a lifetime.

"We know that for [canine] distemper and parvo, for example, the immunity lasts a minimum of five years, probably seven to nine years, and for some individuals for a lifetime,” says veterinarian Jean Dodds, founder of Hemopet, the first nonprofit national blood bank program for animals, located in Santa Monica, Calif.

“For cats, so far we have challenge data out nine years showing that immunity is still protective," says Dodds. And with rabies vaccine, new data indicate the immunity lasts for at least seven years, she says.

What does all this mean for your dog or cat? As with many other aspects of veterinary medicine, vaccinations are becoming individualized, but in most cases, fewer and less frequent vaccinations are the way to go. Most animals need only what are known as core vaccines: those that protect against the most common and most serious diseases. In dogs, the core vaccines are distemper, parvovirus, hepatitis and rabies. In cats, they are panleukopenia, calicivirus, rhinotracheitis (herpesvirus), and rabies as required by law.

Three-year interval recommended
“Current vaccine protocol is to properly immunize puppies and kittens with two or three doses, starting later than we used to, maybe at eight weeks and not earlier than six weeks,” Dodds says. “Then you can give a booster at one year and either repeat it every three years, stagger it by giving one vaccine per year instead of combination vaccines, or do titers instead.” Titers are tests that measure the level of antibodies in the blood, which would indicate that immunity still exists.

That recommended three-year interval was a compromise decision. “Annual boosters for the core vaccinations are excessive for most dogs and cats,” says veterinarian Link Welborn of North Bay Animal and Bird Hospital in Tampa, Fla., and a member of the most recent panel of veterinarians that revised vaccination guidelines for dogs and cats. “Limited studies suggest that booster vaccinations for many of the core vaccinations last for at least seven years. However, given the limited number of animals involved in these studies, three years seemed like a reasonable compromise.”

There’s also an advantage to giving single rather than combination vaccines. “Giving more vaccinations increases the likelihood of side effects,” Welborn says. “Separating vaccinations allows the veterinarian to determine which vaccine caused a side effect if one occurs.”

If you’re concerned that your dog or cat will develop a vaccine-related health problem, but you want to make sure they’re protected against disease, annual titers are an economical alternative.

They’re reliable and costs are comparable to those for vaccinations. For instance, at Canyon Animal Hospital in Laguna Beach, Calif., the rate for a combination distemper/parvo titer is $39. If the dog turns out to need a vaccination, it’s given at no additional charge. Titers are also available for cats.

Consider changing veterinarians if yours claims that titers are too expensive to perform, charges $50 or more for them or wants to vaccinate because a titer level is “too low.”

“Any measurable titer to a specific antigen means you’ve got immune memory cells,” Dodds says.

Skip the annual exam, too?
So do these new recommendations mean that your dog or cat no longer needs an annual veterinary exam? Don’t get your hopes up.

The physical exam your veterinarian performs is far more important than vaccinations. In a recent study on longevity, 16 percent of dogs and 20 percent of cats were found to have subclinical — meaning signs weren’t yet obvious — diseases that were diagnosed through an exam and routine lab work.

“Many people, because the animal is living with them, don’t notice subtle changes in the behavior or the clinical state of the animal that a veterinarian would notice,” Dodds says.

Welborn likes to see veterinarians and pet owners working together to perform an annual lifestyle risk assessment. That means looking at the animal’s environment and habits to decide whether it needs such non-core vaccines as those for feline leukemia or Lyme disease or canine cough (probably not, unless the exposure risk is high) and whether it needs changes in diet or exercise levels to prevent obesity and its attendant problems, which include arthritis and diabetes.

“Care should be individualized for each pet,” Welborn says. “The days of treating all dogs and cats the same are gone.”



© 2006 MSNBC Interactive
URL: http://msnbc.msn.com/id/8572826/

[KellyV]

Originally Posted by Baby Blessing

Is there states that don't require the rabies?

It's required in the state of Wisconsin UNLESS you can get your vet to sign a waiver for you, then you don't need one.... Wisconsin statute 95.21(9)(d) states "A city, village, or town may exempt the owner of a dog from the requirement to have the dog vaccinated against rabies for a year based on a letter from a veterinarian stating that vaccination is inadvisable because of a reaction to a previous vaccination, a physical condition, or a regimen of therapy that the dog is undergoing. The city, village, or town shall require the owner to provide a new letter for each year in which the owner seeks an exemption under this paragraph."

If the titer test shows that Pixie is protected for rabies, I'm going to have my vet give me a waiver. She got a pretty bad lump when they injected it last time. Fortunately it went away, but we might not be so lucky next time!

I'm not sure about other states. You're best best is to check with your veterinarian to see what the requirement is.

[Erin]

Originally Posted by Skittles_Momma

Good article. Ok, how do you pronounce titer? I'm gonna call my vet and ask about this. Skittles is due for her "yearly" shots.

I believe titer is pronounced like fighter. Loki's trainer hands out an article similar to this. Dodds is cutting edge on this topic. The problem is that I took it to Loki's vet and she told me a story about how she did a titer on an older dog and it said there was immunity and then the dog got parvo. So... Personally, I believe my trainer (and Dodds) but the vet got me on the "better safe than sorry" and convinced me that since he didn't have a reaction before, he wouldn't now. (Trainer said this is not necessarily true.) Anyway, we got Loki the 3 yr rabies and his combo shot and I think we will have to wait for titers to become more common before we convince our vet. I don't want to change vets, I do really like her!

I'm glad the MSM has picked up on this and is covering it. The dog journals and mags have covered this before, but it's nice to see it on something like MSNBC.

[Yorkie3]

I copied the article to give a copy to my Vet. A few months back while there I did ask the Vet Tech about the titer tests and she said they were $90.00, because they send it off.
If anyone else has had this test done, how much did it cost you?

[KellyV]

*** BUMP ***

Thought I would knock this back up to the top. Seems there's been quite a few bad reactions to vaccinations lately...

Those of you with pups who've had reactions... I'd def look into having a titer test performed the next time a shot is due. I'd be really concerned about re-vaccinating after all the problems you've had!

[KellyV]

Originally Posted by Yorkie3

I copied the article to give a copy to my Vet. A few months back while there I did ask the Vet Tech about the titer tests and she said they were $90.00, because they send it off.
If anyone else has had this test done, how much did it cost you?

I wanna say a titer test is about $50, I'd have to check... plus the $42 standard exam charge... Right around $90 for me too.

I think they need special equipment to do a titer test. They must not have it yet... Could always call around and find a vet that does.