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Posted 5/13/05: FINALLY, the news media is exposing the veterinarian vaccination HOAX:
from: http://www.newsday.com/news/columnists/ny-lspets4251551may09,0,3030875.column?coll=ny-main-tabheads
ANIMAL HOUSE
Vaccination often good for life
May 9, 2005
At first glance, it sounds like an epidemic.
Last year, 120 shelter dogs in Chicago died of canine distemper. The usually fatal viral disorder also hit Los Angeles, Miami, Phoenix, Atlanta, Dallas and Washington state.
Last month New York City's Animal Care & Control issued a press release headlined "Protect Your Pets, New York" - followed by no less than three exclamation points - urging owners to "fully immunize" their animals. And just last week, shelter officials confirmed a distemper case in a dog that had reportedly been vaccinated.
But before you speed-dial your vet to schedule a distemper booster, listen to vet Ronald Schultz, chairman of pathobiological sciences at the University of Wisconsin School of Veterinary Medicine at Madison, who has been studying the efficacy of canine vaccines since the 1970s.
"The idea that outbreaks occurred as a result of owners inadequately vaccinating their dogs really is not the case at all," says Schultz, who was part of a task force studying the Chicago outbreak. "If a dog was effectively vaccinated as a puppy, and very certainly if it was ever vaccinated at a year old, it is immune for life."
Schultz adds that the majority of the sick Chicago dogs had never been vaccinated. (Illness in vaccinated dogs was a "red herring," he says: Either the dog was already infected when vaccinated, or was one of those rare cases - one in every 5,000 dogs - that can't respond to the distemper vaccine, "whether it is given monthly, daily or hourly.") By contrast, he says, "the vaccinated pet population in Chicago never had any problem."
Distemper was the leading cause of death among dogs until the 1950s, when a vaccine was introduced. Until recently, it has been considered an "old" disease - not quite eradicated, but generally under control, with shelters normally seeing only a handful of cases.
Schultz notes that today, canine distemper is still prevalent among wildlife, including raccoons, coyotes and foxes. That is likely how the Chicago outbreak began, he adds: Vehicles used to transport stray dogs had previously picked up infected raccoons, providing a point of transmission.
(Because the distemper cases in Chicago were new strains, there was concern they might be resistant to vaccines, says John A. Lednicky, assistant professor of pathology at Loyola University Medical Center in Maywood, Ill. While testing by Schultz disproved this, Lednicky notes the new strains are significant because "often, the symptoms are just neurological," impeding diagnosis. Indeed, area vets misdiagnosed dogs as epileptic that had this form of distemper.)
With the distemper vaccine, Schultz says, one jab'll do you - provided the shot imparts immunity. That can be gauged with a titer, a blood test that measures antibody levels.
Puppies are trickier. During their first weeks of life, they are protected by maternal antibodies from their mother's colostrum. Vaccinating too early can result in those antibodies interfering with the vaccine, leaving the puppy more vulnerable than before.
And the age at which maternal immunity fades varies from puppy to puppy. Schultz says that at 6 weeks, about half of puppies no longer have maternal immunity; at 9 weeks, it's about 75 percent; and at 12 weeks, about 90 percent. Given those odds, he recommends keeping a puppy relatively isolated until 12 weeks, then vaccinating. Several weeks later, owners should titer, and, if the puppy has inadequate antibody levels, revaccinate. (Titering earlier is ineffective because it can't distinguish between passive maternal immunity and active immunity from the vaccine.)
Ed Boks, executive director of the AC&C, says that, in shelters, mass vaccination is crucial for avoiding outbreaks.
Schultz doesn't disagree but notes the significant difference between never-vaccinated strays in a shelter and well-cared-for companions that have already been vaccinated, perhaps multiple times. His concern for the latter is not that they are at great risk for distemper, but rather that overzealous owners - and vets - might erroneously conclude that more is more.
"Veterinarians in general don't know much about vaccines, and they know less about immunology," he says, adding that some still give yearly "shots," even though research has shown that is an arbitrary timetable. "And vaccine companies have really taken advantage of that."
I hope that folks reading this will both distribute this information/link AND WRITE TO THANK THE REPORTER FOR THE EXPOSURE IN THE MEDIA!
WRITE TO Denise Flaim, c/o Newsday, 235 Pinelawn Rd., Melville, NY 11747-4250, or e-mail denise.flaim@newsday.com. For previous columns, visit www.newsday.com/pets
Email: denise.flaim@newsday.com
More and more companion dogs [and other companion pets, as well as "humans/people"] are being diagnosed with auto-immune-related and/or caused conditions. There seems to be a great deal of controversy as to what the underlying cause of this situation might be. The "experts" cannot seem to agree on the cause, but in the meantime the drug industry and the veterinarians and health care providers are making lots of money and their very financial living is totally dependent on this situation continuing.
For more detailed information regarding vaccinations, visit the "Ethics" page from the main menu.
Does it really require "scientific study" or a "rocket scientist", to determine basic cause and effect? YOU be the judge - it's your life and that of your loved ones that's at stake here.
The problems with vaccinating for "profit" is GLOBAL in scope, see: http://www.freewebs.com/novaxx/links.htm
From: http://www.animalwellnessmagazine.com/mag/v72/72/p42.htm
“I have studies that show duration of immunity at seven to nine years for all the core vaccines except rabies, and even on an antibody basis I can show that rabies gives much longer protection than three years,” says Dr. Schultz.
| Vaccination: Which ones do they REALLY NEED, and HOW OFTEN? by Ann Brightman |
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When Helena took her new Sheltie puppy, Mick, to the vet for his first check-up, she felt more than a little anxious when it came time for him to receive his shots. While she wanted to protect her new friend from deadly diseases like distemper and parvo, she was also concerned about the health risks associated with over-vaccination. Although Helena went ahead with the vaccines and follow-up boosters, she was worried about subjecting Mick to subsequent annual shots, even though her vet told her she was risking her dog’s health even more by not doing so.
It’s a common quandary these days, especially as we hear more and more about the often devastating side effects of over-vaccination. How do we prevent our dogs or cats from contracting infectious diseases that can often be fatal, while also protecting them from the equally serious health consequences of too many shots? The best strategy is to learn which vaccines are absolutely necessary (referred to as core vaccines), why they’re needed, and what the minimum requirements are for each to ensure protection from disease without over-vaccinating.
WHAT ARE CORE VACCINES? “Core vaccines are those that every dog or cat should receive, regardless of geographic location or lifestyle,” says Dr. Ron Schultz, Professor and Chair of the Department of Pathological Studies at the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s School of Veterinary Medicine. For dogs, the four core vaccines are canine distemper (CDV), canine parvovirus-2 (CPV-2), canine adenovirus-2 (CAV-2) and rabies. Those for cats are feline panleukopenia or parvovirus (FPV), feline herpesvirus-1 (FHV-1), also referred to as feline viral rhinotracheitis, feline calicivirus (FCV) and rabies. In this article, the first in a three-part series, we’ll be taking a close-up look at canine distemper, feline panleukopenia and rabies. The eight vaccinations listed above are considered core because the diseases they protect against are distributed over a wide area and have a high mortality rate. “These vaccinations are absolutely necessary,” says Dr. Schultz. “You want the vaccine to be the first antigens to prime the immune system. You don’t want to leave it up to natural immunization or exposure.” This is because, when compared to the actual disease-causing virus, the vaccine is a safer way to protect the animal. “If the vaccine is live, it’s attenuated. If it’s killed, it can’t cause disease,” explains Dr. Schultz. “It’s true that many puppies that never see a vet get naturally immunized by exposure to distemper, as an example, but for every one that gets vaccinated, probably another would have died if the first encounter with distemper occurred prior to vaccination.” MINIMIZING VACCINATION Although core vaccines are necessary to protect your companion from infectious disease, even these do not need to be given on an annual basis. “That’s what we’re trying to change,” says Dr. Schultz. “What we recommend is that both puppies and kittens get the core vaccines at least once at or over the age of 12 weeks.” The 12 weeks is significant, because prior to that, many animals still have passive maternal antibodies that block immunization, which means they may not respond to the vaccine and are therefore unprotected against the disease. American Association Hospital Association (AAHA) guidelines recommend vaccinating again at one year, and once every three years after that, although even that may not be necessary. “I have studies that show duration of immunity at seven to nine years for all the core vaccines except rabies, and even on an antibody basis I can show that rabies gives much longer protection than three years,” says Dr. Schultz. CANINE DISTEMPER (CDV) CDV is a highly infectious and often fatal disease that attacks the respiratory, gastrointestinal and central nervous systems. Although dogs of any age can contract distemper, puppies up to six months of age are most susceptible to the disease, which can cause a range of symptoms from fever, loss of appetite and eye inflammation in its early stages, to diarrhea, vomiting, pneumonia, and neurological complications such as ataxia, seizures and paralysis. Canine distemper occurs around the world not only among domesticated dogs, but also in many wild carnivores such as raccoons, skunks and foxes. “Wildlife is actually now more of a reservoir for distemper than dogs are,” says Dr. Schultz. “The virus is spread mainly by air, or by direct contact with secretions from the infected animal. The mortality rate among puppies with distemper is 50% or higher.” On the plus side, the distemper virus is very fragile and easily destroyed by outside influences. “It doesn’t live very long in the environment,” says Dr. Schultz. “It dies very quickly because it is what we call an enveloped virus. These kinds of viruses are highly susceptible to water, disinfectant and sunlight.” Although there is only one distemper serotype, there are several genotypes. “What this means is that, from an immunologic standpoint, it doesn’t matter which distemper infects the animal, they’re all similar; the vaccine for canine distemper can protect against the different genotypes.” Dr. Schultz adds that modified live vaccines (MLV) are most effective for distemper. “In fact there’s no question in my mind that you should be using live vaccines for most of the cores. Although attenuated, live vaccines infect and replicate, and that’s how you get immunity.” Although AAHA recommends vaccinating against distemper every three years after the initial puppy shots, challenge studies have shown that the minimum duration of immunity can last five to seven years, and perhaps even longer. In fact, titers have indicated that dogs can be protected for nine to 15 years. “To be honest, although canine distemper is a core vaccine, I think a dog only needs to receive it once in his life,” says Dr. Schultz. “The same goes for canine parvo and adenovirus-2. That’s the vaccination program I’ve been practicing on my own dogs without any difficulty whatsoever. We’ve never had a vaccine-preventable disease occur.” Titer testing is highly effective for canine distemper, but according to Dr. Schultz, the best time to do it is at two weeks or more after the last puppy vaccination, to ensure that the animal responded to its initial vaccines. “To my mind, that’s the only time it’s of medical benefit to use a titer test for canine distemper. After that, you don’t really need to titer the animal since you can easily go five or seven years before the next vaccine.” FELINE PANLEUKOPENIA (FPV) Although FPV is sometimes referred to as feline distemper, this terminology is misleading. “When I talk about feline ‘distemper,’ I always talk about it as feline parvo or panleukopenia,” explains Dr. Schultz. “The virus that causes this disease is essentially identical to the canine parvo virus, but not the canine distemper virus. If a dog has parvo, it can infect a cat, but this doesn’t happen with distemper.” Most often found in kittens, FPV is a contagious and deadly disease that attacks and destroys growing cells in the intestine, blood and nervous system. It causes diarrhea, vomiting, a lowered white blood cell count, and neurological symptoms such as tremors. Kittens up to six months of age can easily die from the disease, while older cats may develop much milder signs. “There’s a tremendous age-related resistance to parvo,” says Dr. Schultz. “If the animal is less than a year old, mortality is 80% to 100%. However, I rarely see mortality in animals over a year of age, although I might see mild morbidity. Nevertheless, feline parvo is the one cat vaccin4e I absolutely insist on.” Like canine distemper, feline parvo has worldwide distribution with outbreaks occurring most commonly in urban areas during the summer months. The disease is transmitted by direct contact, although cats can also contract FPV from the fecal matter of an infected feline. Unlike canine distemper, the parvo virus is extremely long-lived, and can remain active in the environment for months or even longer. “Parvo is what we call a naked virus and is one of the most resistant,” says Dr. Schultz. Soil contaminated with the parvo virus still has the ability to infect an animal a year later. “In fact, parvo is more often caused by environmental contamination than direct contact with an infected animal. You don’t need the infected cat to be in the environment for very long in order for it to leave the virus behind.” As with canine distemper, MLV vaccines are very effective for preventing feline panleukopenia. “With parvo, in fact, you’d better be using live vaccines, because the killeds don’t work.” As with other core vaccines, kittens should be vaccinated at 12 weeks. Titer testing is very effective for this disease, although challenge studies indicate that a vaccinated kitten can remain protected from feline parvo for eight years. RABIES (RV) Unlike distemper and parvo, rabies is a disease that can be transmitted from animals to humans, which is why rabies vaccinations are required by law throughout North America. The virus infects the central nervous system, causing encephalitis and death. Symptoms can include confusion, partial paralysis, aggressive behavior, excessive salivation and other neurological signs. Although rabies occurs worldwide, including in Asia, Africa and Latin America, some countries such as the U.K. are rabies-free. In North America, rabies is most prevalent in the eastern portions of the continent, although cases can occur anywhere. Wild animals such as raccoons, skunks, bats and foxes are the major carriers. Because rabies isn’t age-related, mammals at all stages of life can be affected with the same degree of severity. The chief means of transmission is by a bite from an infected animal. “There are multiple strains of rabies, but the important thing is that the vaccine prevents infection with all those different strains,” says Dr. Schultz. “Although the risk of infection in domesticated animals is generally low, the public health concern is the issue. That’s what drives the regulations for rabies vaccines.” As with the other core vaccines, puppies and kittens should be vaccinated at 12 weeks. Although some states and provinces have approved a three-year rabies vaccine, some still require annual re-vaccination for dogs and cats, even though the duration of immunity based on challenge studies has been shown to be three to seven years. “The regulations vary from state to state and province to province, and even from municipality to municipality.” It’s also important to realize that a municipality might have a more restrictive requirement than the state or province it’s a part of, although not the other way around. “Rabies titers are effective, but there’s no point running them because you’re going to have to vaccinate your animal by law anyhow,” says Dr. Schultz. However, titer testing for rabies is useful in cases where the animal has had an adverse reaction to the vaccine, or has a medical condition that could be aggravated by the vaccination. “In these situations, local municipalities will sometimes accept a letter from the vet as a reason not to vaccinate every three years, But the guardian has to understand that the animal is still considered to be non-vaccinated, and if it bit someone, it would be treated as such if it’s gone beyond the three years, irrespective of the vet’s letter. Even so, if you have a dog that for health reasons shouldn’t be given a rabies vaccine, it’s better to take the chance of it being quarantined for biting someone than to give the vaccine and kill the dog.” BACK TO BASICS Vaccinations definitely have their place in disease prevention, but knowing where to draw the line is key. “I’ve seen it go from no vaccines back in the mid-1960s, to where we just kept adding one after the other,” says Dr. Schultz. The pendulum has since started swinging back again as organizations such as AAHA and American Association of Feline Practitioners (AAFP) began looking more closely at which vaccines out of the 12 for cats and 16 for dogs were really needed and why. “We used to have one manufacturer that made a canine vaccine combo with 13 different components in it. That’s not good, and that’s why it’s not available anymore.” Now, by contrast, companies are coming out with information demonstrating that their products give duration of immunity lasting several years. “All the major manufacturers are coming on board and saying that their core vaccines give at least three years immunity. To me, that’s the greatest gratification in the more than 25 years I’ve been doing this.” |
Dr Charles E Loops DVM
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After 10 years of traditional veterinary practice I became tired of having no treatment for chronic disease, incurable conditions, and a plethora of allergic maladies which seem to plague all veterinary practices. I was frustrated with giving animals cortisone because I had no other solutions, or using antibiotics for infections which I knew were of viral origin. At this time I had some chronic health problems, which had been unresolvable allopathically, but they responded to treatment by homeopathy. It took some time but it worked! This is when my philosophy about disease changed and my interest in classical homeopathy began. I studied with Richard Pitcairn, DVM, going to workshops that he offered for several years. I completed a year of study with Linda Johnston, M.D., author of Everyday Miracles who had a very successful homeopathic practice in CA. I have studied extensively and continue to do so. I progressively added homeopathy to my practice over a four year period and in February of 1992, I sold this practice so that I could devote myself to veterinary homeopathy exclusively. |
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THE VACCINATION DILEMMA and |
Homeopathic veterinarians and other holistic practitioners have maintained for some time that vaccinations do more harm than they provide benefits. Vaccinations represent a major assault on the body's immune system. Attenuated organisms or chemically killed viruses or bacteria are injected directly into the blood stream, an unnatural route of infection. This profound insult, avoiding the body's first line of defences, and flooding the system with millions of organisms or viral particles, stresses the immune system in a way not of nature’s design. This insult causes irregularities and abnormalities in the immune system which then manifests as chronic disease in animals. These chronic diseases range from life-threatening conditions such as auto-immune crises to conditions destroying the quality of life of an animal as in chronic skin allergies.
What we are now seeing are generations of over-vaccinated animals and these current offspring are suffering the penalty of this medical abuse. In an attempt to control a naturally occurring process of population control and survival of the fittest, the medical establishment has convinced people that mass inoculations are for the good of all, overlooking the health of the individual. Where vaccinations have helped in eradicating or reducing the incidence of severe, acute disease processes, the result has been to plague humanity with more insidious, chronic diseases that are much more difficult to treat and that lower the quality of life for many individual animals and people.
In all of this, there needs to be BALANCE, and the following are my recommendations for vaccinating or not vaccinating, and some comments about diet.
1. Puppies under three months of age should not be vaccinated.
Vaccinations are much more stressful on the underdeveloped immune system. Also, these vaccinations are much less effective at providing immunity before three months of age. If you feel you must vaccinate, do so with one vaccination of Distemper at three months, followed by a vaccination for Parvovirus at four months of age, and stop with that. If you can't find a single Distemper vaccine use the Distemper-measles combination. Use killed vaccines only.
2. Kittens should only be vaccinated for Panleukopenia and not before three months of age.
All other vaccinations should be avoided. One vaccine is sufficient.
Puppies and kittens can be given homeopathic nosodes beginning at three weeks of age.
If there is a potential for exposure to Distemper, Parvovirus, or Panleukopenia. These nosodes can be used until vaccinations are given or continued periodically for the first year of life, if vaccinations are not given. Common sense should be used in avoiding exposure of very young animals to other, possible unhealthy, animals of the same species.
4. Booster vaccinations are completely unnecessary.
Studies are now showing that these vaccinations are effective for many years and most probably for life. Vaccinated animals do not need any boosters. Homeopathic nosodes can be given periodically if you are concerned or if you think your animals live a high risk, life style.
5. Rabies Vaccinations should be given as dictated by state laws.
Lyssin, the homeopathic nosode, should be given within a few hours after the vaccination. Clearly, the rabies vaccination is effective for many years more than state laws require booster vaccination.
6. Booster vaccinations can cause SEVERE set-backs when an animal is being treated homeopathically for chronic problems.
They can completely erase any progress that has been made towards improving an animal's health.
7. My personal recommendation is NOT to vaccinate at all.
The best road to good health is feeding a diet rich in fresh foods, raw meats for the carnivores, and avoiding vaccinations and allopathic medications. Antibiotics and other allopathic drugs should only be used in situations where their use is clearly indicated, and this should be only in potentially life-threatening situations. Every time you suppress a symptom the body produces, you are potentially lowering the health status of the body system. Treating with the correctly prescribed, homeopathic remedy, herbs, or other non-invasive therapies, not of a chemical nature, will enhance your health and your companions health.
8. Commercial diets should be carefully chosen.
Your companion is at the mercy of your good or poor judgement in selecting foods. Cats and dogs which have free access to the outside can to some degree supplement their diet. Otherwise, they are totally dependent on you. Science diets and Hill's dog and cat food products are not good diets. They use chemical preservatives that have been shown to cause problems in some animals, and they use by-products, which are words on the ingredient label that need to be avoided at all costs. This generally means food not utilized for human consumption. If you feed a carefully selected commercial food, some supplementation with fresh food is necessary to maximize your companions' health. Raw poultry, beef, lamb, or rabbit and occasionally liver should be added to the diet at least three times per week, and fresh vegetables in small amounts should also be offered.
9. The best diet is a RAW FOOD DIET.
There are many good books with recipes for raw diets.
Is your veterinarian still recommending that you have your pet vaccinated on a yearly basis? If so, you might want to reconsider--especially given the latest information on the problems associated with over-vaccination. Research in recent years indicates that, basically, there's no scientific evidence to support the need for annual vaccinations. "Annual vaccinations, a practice started many years ago, lack scientific validity or verification," says veterinarian R. Schultz, PhD, a professor at the Veterinary College at the University of Wisconsin.
cure or cause?
When annual rabies shots became common in the 1950s, pet owners never questioned the vaccine's safety. It helped vanquish the disease, as well as distemper and parvovirus. Following on the heels of this success, veterinary medicine developed more and more vaccinations. However, after many years of administering annual shots, vets began to notice something ominous. A growing number of otherwise healthy cats and dogs were getting cancer and immune-related diseases.
Pet owners and veterinary researchers began to question whether these problems were vaccine-related. Cats, for example, were developing fibrosarcomas--a fatal form of cancerous tumor--at the site of the vaccine injection, usually between the shoulder blades. Dogs were also getting cancerous tumors at injection sites and succumbed to immune diseases. My dog, Sarge, previously had a caring owner who vaccinated for everything on a yearly basis without realizing the consequences. Sarge now has discoid lupus, an autoimmune disease with no cure.
So what's the link between vaccinations and these diseases?
Vaccines are designed to stimulate the immune system, but they do so in a very unnatural way that can overwhelm the body's natural defenses. Donna Starita Mehan, DVM, a holistic veterinarian in Boring, Oregon, explains that as a result of over-vaccination, the body may overreact to normally harmless substances such as common viruses, bacteria, fungi and parasites. This can result in allergies, skin problems and bladder or ear infections--or, in extreme cases, autoimmune diseases or cancer.
double dose?
Another problem with traditional pet vaccines is the dosage. Veterinarian Jean Dodd, DVM, of Santa Monica, California, notes that to ensure efficacy, manufacturers for years have made vaccine doses 10 times more potent than what is necessary to challenge the immune system.
One vaccine producer, Pfizer, tested its one-year rabies vaccine on live animals and discovered it lasted for at least three years. Pfizer sells the identical formula, packaged differently, in different states to satisfy different state vaccination requirements.
In addition, be aware that a Chihuahua will get the same amount of a vaccine dose as a Saint Bernard--a "one dose fits all" formula. For example, a small puppy and a large adult dog are both given 1 cc of a combination vaccine that might contain distemper, parainfluenza and parvo. And seldom, if ever, will your veterinarian lower the dosage. "In theory, your veterinarian could lose his license for not administering the full dose," says Martin Goldstein, DVM, of South Salem, New York. "Or, he might have to recall all of the pets to whom he gave a substandard dose and revaccinate them at full dosages."
changing attitudes
About five years ago, veterinary schools began to rethink the conventional wisdom of yearly vaccination protocols due to mounting evidence pointing to the connection between immune diseases, cancers and vaccinations. In January 1998, the American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) recommended that cats and dogs be vaccinated only every three years. As of 2003, all 27 veterinary schools in the United States are in the process of changing their protocols for vaccinating dogs and cats.
Dodd has studied the pros and cons of yearly vaccinations and has written a number of papers about them. She recommends that only the first shots for puppies and kittens be a modified live virus (MLV). These vaccinations should be given as individual injections over the span of weeks or months.
Because first vaccines are with a more effective MLV, the vaccine will probably produce an immunity that is good for the life of the pet. For subsequent vaccinations, Dodd suggests "killed virus" vaccines, which aren't nearly as virulent as their live counterparts.
firmly entrenched
Even though many veterinarians and veterinary schools no longer recommend yearly vaccinations, not everyone has given up this annual assault. Why? In part, it's about money. Veterinarians receive a large percentage of their income from vaccinations.
The average single dose of any vaccine costs about 79 cents, not including the needle or syringe. Veterinarians charge from $16 to $20 to administer this dose in addition to an office visit fee.
"It's been estimated that veterinarians charge $36 million a year for vaccinations that aren't necessary," says Spring, Texas-based veterinarian Bob Rogers, DVM. Rogers has tiled a complaint with the Texas Attorney General against all licensed veterinarians in his state. He asserts that pets are receiving unnecessary vaccinations, and he has asked that legal action be taken to stop this practice. Such vaccinations are not only unnecessary, says Rogers, they can also cause pets an untold amount of harm.
take the test
Holistic veterinarians can give your pet a titer test, which checks the blood for antibody levels for particular diseases. A titer test doesn't measure immunity, but it does measure antibodies circulating in the system. "Antibody levels may suggest, but not conclusively prove, how much immunity that pet carries against a specific disease," writes Susan Wynn, a holistic veterinarian based in Atlanta. Low levels of antibodies suggest that revaccination may be necessary.
Dogs can be tested for parvovirus, coronavirus, herpesvirus, adenovirus and distemper antibodies using a titer test, although the parvovirus and distemper titers are the ones most commonly used. To test cats for feline leukemia virus and immune deficiency virus, vets check for the presence of the virus itself, not the antibody levels.
Cats should have titer tests for feline panleukopenia, herpesvirus and calicivirus. Rabies antibody level tests, on the other hand, aren't recommended due to the public health implications. Because rabies can be transmitted to humans, owners need assurance that their pets are immune from this disease. Titers for other ailments, however, should be performed on a yearly basis so you can be assured that your pet is protected.
Although titers aren't perfect indicators of immunity, they are the best tests available to provide owners with some reassurance that their pets are protected and don't need to be revaccinated. Titer tests aren't accepted as a guarantee against disease at international borders, although I have noticed that more kennels and clinics are accepting titer tests as proof that the pet is protected.
Perhaps in the future, titer test results will be accepted by the majority of kennels and clinics, but until that time, I recommend that you have your pet vaccinated no more than once every three years. Clearly, annual vaccinations are causing more harm than good. After all, as parents, we don't have our children vaccinated every year, so why would we do it to our pets?
get the facts
Before you take your pet to the veterinarian for any vaccine, here are some things you should do:
* Always inquire if your veterinarian follows the protocol of vaccinating every three years.
* Never vaccinate a puppy or kitten under eight weeks of age. Vaccinations are more stressful on underdeveloped immune systems.
* Always ask your veterinarian if he or she uses killed virus vaccines or modified live virus (MLV) vaccines. Martin Goldstein, DVM, advises that because killed vaccines are less virulent, "manufacturers boost them with powerful additives to provoke a more sustained immune response." His preference? No vaccines.
* Never vaccinate a pet that's ill, taking medication or malnourished. Also, don't allow your pets to be vaccinated if they're at the vet's office for any type of surgery.
* Avoid combination vaccines. Given one at a time, spaced over six to eight weeks, vaccinations are less likely to cause side effects.
Ann Martin has spent her career taking on the pet-health establishment.
Ann Martin is the author of the grassroots bestseller, Food Pets Die For: Shocking Facts About Pet Food (NewSage Press 2003), which has just been reissued with new and updated information on pet food. She is also the author of Protect Your Pet: More Shocking Facts (NewSage Press 2001).
from: http://www.bogartsdaddy.com/bouvier/health/vaccination-concerns-uk.htm
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Canine Vaccine Survey |
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by Canine Health Concern, England
Research conducted at Purdue University shows routinely vaccinated dogs developing auto antibodies to a vast range of normal canine biochemicals - which corroborates our findings. For human beings, the World Health Organization considers a reaction of one in 10,000 unacceptable. Surely the same statistics apply to dogs. Worse - and bordering on corporate dog slaughter - is the fact that we are urged to vaccinate companion animals every year. There is no scientific justification for this; it is a crime. Thank you. Catherine O¹Driscoll
Some of the effects of VACCINOSIS can be seen in PHOTOS at this site: from: http://duke.usask.ca/%7Emisra/virology/stud2004/k9vac/adverse.html GENETIC PREDISPOSITION OF ANIMAL Tens of millions of dogs are vaccinated yearly in VACCINATION STORIES of both those that "survived" and those who DIED can be read at: http://www.truthaboutvaccines.org/ |
- vaccines do not prevent disease or immunise, they sensitise
- vaccines cause encephalitis: inflammation of the brain
- encephalitis has many diverse symptoms, ranging from acute to chronic
- vaccines are deadly poisons
- vaccines can cause the disease they are designed to prevent
- vaccines shed into the environment, spreading disease
- vaccines disarm and unbalance the immune system
Pro-vaccinators use statistics to 'prove' that vaccines have eradicated epidemics. However, the way they have interpreted these statistics is open to question. When you look at the medical literature, you find research project after research project which shows that as many vaccinated humans contract a disease as do unvaccinated - and it can even be argued that more vaccinated people contract the diseases.
In absolute truth, it is clear that immunity only sometimes follows vaccination. Research recently conducted by the Canine Health Census (CHC) shows that at least 50% of the dogs with viral diseases (parvovirus, distemper, etc), contracted the diseases within three months of being vaccinated. This supports the view that vaccines often fail to protect, and that in some cases they can actually cause the disease they are designed to prevent. In the case of leptospirosis, every single dog with the disease contracted it within three months of being vaccinated. So where was the protection?
In contrast, the adverse effects of vaccination are well documented. Vaccine manufacturers admit that vaccines can cause encephalitis, an inflammation of the brain. Encephalitis has many diverse symptoms, ranging from acute to chronic. Emeritus professor of neurology at Columbia University, HH Merritt, wrote of encephalitis: "Since any portion of the nervous system may be affected, variable clinical syndromes may occur...meningeal, encephalitic, brain-stem, spinal cord, and neuritic."
Diarrhoea, vomiting, flatulence, gastroenteritis, stomach aches, headaches, enuresis, constipation, breathing difficulties, hyperactivity, obsessiveness, inatentiveness, mental retardation, seizures, paralysis, aggression, and other conditions are known to be sequelae arising from viral encephalitis.
Death is quite possible. Dr Harris L Coulter argues that encephalitis from infectious disease or traumatic injury is known produce severe neurologic damage in the absence of an acute reaction, and that vaccine-induced encephalitis should be no exception. So you take your newly-vaccinated dog home from the vet's, and he seems fine, and then a few weeks later, he starts having skin problems or digestive problems, or biting the children. And no-one thinks to tie it in with the vaccine...except that some vets are now making this connection.
When a dog (or any species) reacts to a vaccine with drowsiness, a slight fever, or appears off his food, there is every reason to fear that this is the hypersensitivity reaction described in the vaccine manufacturers' literature, which can cause inflammation, which can lead to encephalitis, which is capable of producing quite severe neurologic consequences and even death. Further, the symptoms need not manifest themselves immediately for damage to ensue.
Dr JA Morris, a leading US infectious disease expert declared: "We only hear about the encephalitis and the deaths, but there is an entire spectrum between fever and death, and it's all those things in between that never get reported."
Dr R Mendelsohn said: "There now exists a growing theoretical concern which links immunisation to the huge increase, in recent decades, of autoimmune diseases, e.g., rheumatoid arthritis, multiple sclerosis, lymphoma and leukaemia."
Vets and vaccine manufacturers tell us that 'only a tiny minority' of dogs suffer adverse reactions to vaccines. According to research conducted by the CHC, this tiny minority is, in fact, one in every hundred dogs. Many dogs with behavioural problems, eating disorders, digestive problems, allergies, organ damage, skin complaints, autoimmune diseases, arthritis and so on, could well trace their origin to the door of the veterinary practice, and to the needle.
I have three living Golden Retrievers, and three dead Golden Retrievers. Oliver died when he was four: we woke one morning to discover that his back legs were paralysed. We rushed him to the vets where he was put on a steroid drip and died that day. Although the conventional vet could offer no explanation, a homoeopathic vets tells me that, in his view, this is a classic vaccine reaction.
Prudence died when she was six from an autoimmune disease. Dr Jean Dodds DVM claims that, "Many veterinarians trace the present problems with allergic and immunologic diseases to the introduction of MLV (multiple live virus) vaccines some twenty years ago."
A few days after his puppy jab, Samson was found in the garden, his back legs - like Oliver's - were paralysed. We panicked and called the vet, who told us to give Sam a paracetamol (which, incidentally, are poisonous to dogs). Sam recovered. The next year, again a few days after his vaccine, Samson's head swelled up like a balloon and he ran round screaming and crying. Shortly afterwards, we discovered that Samson had autoimmune disease. He died a few weeks ago, aged five, from cancer. We can trace his death right the way back to the door of the veterinary practice, to the day when a vaccine destroyed his immune system.
And of the three living dogs? Chappie, now 13, has been treated for thyroid disease. Underlying thyroid disease pre-disposes a dog to autoimmune diseases, the triggers for which include vaccines. One vet observed to me that thyroid disease is itself rampant where vaccine coverage is high. Sophie has had arthritis since she was six - also linked to vaccines.
Gwinnie was vaccinated before she came to live with us at the age of five months: her back would ripple if you put your hand on it, and she chewed at her paws and gnawed at her flesh. We took her to a homoeopathic vet where 'vaccinosis', a morbid reaction to vaccines, was diagnosed and successfully treated. Don't imagine that I am speculating that vaccines are doing these things to our dogs. The scientific literature tells us that vaccines are quite capable of causing all this damage.
According to one vaccine manufacturer, only 15 dogs had suffered adverse vaccine reactions in three million administered doses. If the vaccine manufacturer is right, then the probability of one of my six dogs experiencing a vaccine reaction is about three in a million. The chances of three of my dogs having a vaccine reaction is about one in fifty billion Tera-doses. Six out of six, like three out of six, is mathematically impossible. So someone is mistaken.
The fact is that there is no effecting reporting system. No-one actually knows how many dogs react to their vaccines; and even fewer people know (because no-one has told them) how a vaccine reaction can manifest.
The vaccine manufacturers state, in their own literature - in their veterinary data sheets - that vaccination is not without risks. Does your vet warn you? One vaccine manufacturer writes:
"Only healthy dogs should be vaccinated. Following initial vaccination dogs should not be exposed to infection for at least 14 days. Generalised hypersensitivity reactions following administration may occasionally occur.
"A good immune response is reliant on the reaction of an immunogenic agent and a fully competent immune system. Immunogenicity of the vaccine antigen will be reduced by poor storage or inappropriate administration. Immunocompetence of the animal may be compromised by a variety of factors, including poor health, nutritional status, genetic factors, concurrent drug therapy and stress."
In plain English, this means that there are around nine factors associated with vaccination that will put every dog at risk. The first of these is the irrefutable statement that only healthy dogs should be vaccinated. Flying in the face of this advice, vets routinely vaccinate sick dogs. Their logic is that, because the dog is sick, he needs the protection vaccines supposedly confer. My book contains a number of case stories where vets vaccinated sick dogs, and the dogs died.
Nutritional factors may also render vaccines harmful. For example, in one experiment, puppies deliberately starved of vitamin B5 were injected with vaccines and died. Vitamin B5 can be destroyed when cooked or frozen - and most dogs are given (cooked) processed and/or frozen food. The mineral selenium and vitamin A are vital for healthy thyroid function - pet food additives ethoxyquin, BHA and BHT are proven to destroy both selenium and vitamin A. As stated earlier, underlying thyroid disease pre-disposes dogs to autoimmune disease, triggered by vaccines.
Vaccine manufacturers warn that genetic factors might put dogs at risk from vaccination. They don't tell us what these are - but neither does your vet have a clue. He or she vaccinates anyway. At least doctors and nurses ask humans whether there is any history of epilepsy, arthritis or allergies in the family before getting the needle out.
The phrase 'concurrent drug therapy' refers to the fact that immune-suppressant drugs should not be given in conjunction with vaccines. A dog taking steroids, for example, might die if vaccinated. This is because the whole basis of vaccination is that a virus is injected into a dog so that he can mount an immune response and develop antibodies to the virus. If the dog's immune system is suppressed - either by drugs, ill health, poor nutrition, genetic weaknesses, or stress - then he isn't going to be able to mount that immune response, and the vaccine could kill him or cause chronic disease.
MLV vaccines, by the way, are designed to multiply over time in the host. So a dog with a poor immune system will find himself gradually bombarded with a multiplying virus until such time as he either defeats the virus or succumbs to it (dies). The picture is complicated by the fact that the way the vet stores and handles the vaccine also has a bearing on whether the vaccine is successful or not. Another factor is associated with the word, 'attenuation'. Attenuation is where the vaccine is supposedly rendered harmless (i.e., is not capable of producing disease). According to Dr Ronald D Schultz, vaccines will cause disease in an animal (or human) where attenuation has been unsuccessful, or where the host's immune system is suppressed.
Vaccines also can, and do, shed in the environment and revert to virulence - which means that a dog can catch a disease from a vaccinated dog. Other species can be affected: parvovirus is thought, for example, to have been caused by shedding of the feline enteritis vaccine.
I hope that I have alarmed you sufficiently to consider whether vaccination is really necessary, or whether there is a safer alternative, such as homoeopathic nosodes (for further information on this, contact us at the Canine Health Census and we may be able to point you in the direction of a homoeopathic vet near you).
By the way, don't expect your vet to furnish you with unbiased information concerning vaccination. To begin with, in the words of Dr Jean Dodds, "vets need to be better educated about the risks associated with vaccination". Most vets are just as much in the dark as you are. Within weeks of the publication of my book, the National Office of Animal Health in the UK (a trade association representing vaccine manufacturers) held a press conference. They were advising vets to tell us pet owners that our animals could die and cost us a lot of money if we don't buy their products. If vets are being recruited as a sales force, then there is little hope of you learning the truth from them. This is precisely why I wrote the book: to enable you to make the informed choice you have a right to make about the lives of the animals you love.
The case against vaccines is explored in significantly greater detail in Catherine O'Driscoll's book, "Who Killed the Darling Buds of May?: What Vets Don't Tell You About Vaccines". It is available from Abbeywood Publishing, PO Box 1, Longnor, Derbyshire SK17 OJD, England. We are hoping to make the book available in the USA shortly. In the meantime, the book is available from the UK at $28.47, which includes surface shipping.
We were fortunate that prominent and respected researchers, Drs. Larry T. Glickman, Harm HogenEsch, Juan I. Azona-Olivera, J. Catherine Scott-Montcrieff, and Paul W. Snyder of Purdue University, School of Veterinary Medicine, agreed to undertake the study. The results are enlightening and they are enthusiastically working on the second phase, a study of longer duration.
They presented a paper to the International Veterinary Vaccines and Diagnostics Conference, July 27 - 31, 1997, in Madison, Wisconsin, hosted by the University of Wisconsin. These proceedings have been published in Advances in Veterinary Science and Comparative Medicine . Another manuscript: Vaccine Induced Serum Autoantibodies in Young Beagles , has been submitted to a human immunology journal Clinical Immunology and Immmunopathology.
One control group was not vaccinated and the other group was vaccinated with a commercial multivalent vaccine at 8, 10, 12, 16, and 20 weeks of age and with a rabies vaccine at 16 weeks of age. A definition of autoimmune disease is now necessary. In dogs as well as humans, the body sometimes forms antibodies against itself (self antigens) which can lead to diseases of the pancreas (diabetes), thyroid (Hashimoto's Disease), collagen and fibronectin (Scleroderma, Lupus),cardiolipin (Cardiomyopathy), etc. The body literally attacks itself to cause the autoimmune disease.
Effects Of Vaccination On The Endocrine And Immune Systems of Dogs
Phase II - Purdue University, November 1, 1999
Drs. Harm HogenEsch and Larry T. Glickman
Concern has been growing among owners, breeders, and veterinarians that current vaccines cause immune-mediated diseases in dogs. Vaccination is highly effective in preventing infectious disease, but the safety of many vaccines and the frequency of their administration are being questioned.
The Vaccine Research Group at the Purdue University School of Veterinary Medicine has been conducting several studies to address these issues. In one such study, we are trying to determine if current vaccines cause changes in the immune system of the dog that will eventually result in life-threatening immune mediated diseases.
The Beagles being used in this study were bred by us and then vaccinated following a typical schedule used for pet dogs. These Beagles have been closely followed for three years with blood and other tests performed at regular intervals.
To date, routing vaccination of these Beagles has not caused any overt signs of clinical disease. However, the blood of all the vaccinated dogs contains significantly elevated concentrations of antibodies directed against proteins that are present in commercial vaccines as contaminants of the production process. None of the unvaccinated control dogs has had a similar increase in these antibodies. These proteins are typically of bovine origin since fetal calf serum is used to grow the viruses for vaccine production. The close similarity in structure of the bovine proteins to dog proteins results in a situation whereby the antibodies produced by the vaccinated dogs may cross-react with dog tissue proteins in a process similar to autoimmunity.
Experiments in other animal species suggest that these autoantibodies might eventually cause diseases in the vaccinated animals, but these Beagle dogs will need to be followed longer to determine if this is the case. In addition, the pattern of individual responses of the immune system to vaccination in this study suggests a possible genetic predisposition to autoimmunity.
The study described above is unique in that it attempts to determine if vaccinations that dogs routinely receive throughout their life have a cumulative adverse effect. The only way this is possible is under experimental conditions where one group of dogs remains unvaccinated.
The vaccine studies we are conducting both in Beagles and in pet dogs under natural conditions are designed to answer the question: "Does vaccination play a role in autoimmunity, how safe are currently used vaccines, and how often should these vaccines be administered?"
FURTHER UPDATE: In March, 2000 I personally contacted Dr. Glickman regarding this study and in the course of events that followed; Dr. Glickman has agreed to extend the study to our breed, the Great Dane. In the initial conversations, Dr. Glickman postulated that to continue the study further would cost in the neighborhood of one to two million dollars. When I told him that we have a number of Great Danes that are totally unvaccinated and could act as 'controls'. he came back very excited and proposed the further study with Great Danes. With the help of my good friend Magda Aquila and the internet we managed to get a total of 80 Danes to participate in the study.
The Study will be divided into 3 groups: Unvaccinated..; Vaccinated without annual boosters and Vaccinated with annual boosters.
Stay tuned as we will keep you updated to the progress of this very important study.
from: http://dvmnewsmagazine.com/dvm/article/articleDetail.jsp?id=35188
Rabies vaccine increases antibodies, study shows
Oct 1, 2002 - By: Jennifer Fiala - DVM Newsmagazine
West Lafayette, Ind.-A popular rabies vaccine increases thyroid antibodies in dogs, but whether those antibodies cause hypothyroidism is largely unknown.
That's the gist of a six-year study conducted by Purdue University researchers in the latest attempt to prove vaccinations play a role in the development of autoimmune disease and cancer.
Published in the Aug. 15 issue of the Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association, the study monitors the effect of IMRAB-3, the most widely used rabies vaccine in the United States, on dogs. Although the data stops short of supporting co-author Dr. Larry Glickman's theory that rabies vaccines foster hypothyroid-triggering antibodies, "it's one step closer," he says.
"There's a whole host of autoimmune diseases out there," Glickman says. "Some think they're caused by environmental factors, maybe viruses. We think it's immunizations."
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report 7,500 U.S. rabies cases each year, a fraction of which are companion animal.
"Very effective, very safe"
Some veterinarians have been questioning annual vaccination standards since the early 1990s when increased rates of cancer were reported at feline vaccination sites. It was the first hard evidence that vaccines could have bad side effects, Glickman says. "It got us thinking, do we really need to use vaccines so often?"
In the case of IMRAB-3, the answer is yes, say veterinary scientists at Merial, the pharmaceutical's manufacturer.
"This is an interesting article, but it means nothing clinically," says Dr. Zack Mills, Merial's director of vaccines and therapeutic pharmaceuticals. "None of the dogs developed any thyroid disease as a result of IMRAB-3.
"What I don't want to see happen is everyone running around saying that this vaccine causes thyroid problems in dogs. IMRAB is very effective and very safe."
A call for more research
Even though he lacks proof, Glickman disagrees. He says more research needs to be done on all vaccines, not just IMRAB-3. But that's not likely to happen. He says funding is lacking and pharmaceutical companies aren't quick to support such scientific endeavors.
For example, isolating and researching the study's 20 Beagles from newborns to 6 years of age ran about $500,000. The John and Winifred Hayward Foundation, a philanthropic group, funded the research, wanting to make the vaccine-disease association in animals before studying a human correlation.
And since the federal regulating agencies overseeing vaccines don't force pharmaceutical companies to study their products' long-term effects or how long they last, further research dollars are less likely.
Mills explains: "We can invest money to see how long an old vaccine of ours works, or we can fund the improvement of vaccines, making them safer and cleaner.
"We are constantly looking for ways to improve our products. There are always risks and benefits associated with vaccines as (vaccinating is a) medical procedure. But we don't want to be tied up researching old vaccines. If that happens, we won't be creating new drugs."
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In the event for some reason you are wondering if all of this information has developed and/or been generated by "off the wall" folks, read the full article and heed the excellent advice from: http://www.whale.to/a/priestley.html:
There is little doubt that to line the pockets of a few, millions have been made ill or killed by exposure to drugs, chemicals and radiation. Therefore, to a degree, we need to return to the point before the massive increase in the use of these products and take responsibility and control of our own health whilst using doctors as advisors but watching them like a hawk when they reach for their prescription pad without any examination or investigation of an illness.
An old French proverb says that "Most men die of their medicines and not their illnesses."
from: http://www.thepetwhisperer.com/newsletter.html
As you all aware, Drs. Christian and Stephen Blake have been outspoken against annual vaccines for 21 months and 24 years respectively. I just returned from the 2004 Annual Conference of the American Holistic Veterinary Medical Association in Kansas and was fortunate to hear Dr. Jean Dodds and Dr. Ron Shultz speak on vaccine issues.
With the help of Drs. Jean Dodds and Ron Schultz, the following information is now mainstream information for all veterinarians in the world. Please pay this forward to all pet owners and veterinarians with whom you come into contact. With your help, over-vaccination will go the way of other Flat Earth Medical Practices that have preceded it, i.e., bleeding, purging, using flat earth maps to navigate the healing of animals, etc.
PLEASE CLICK TO AND SIGN THE ON-LINE PETITION AGAINST THE OVER-VACCINATIONS: Please read and consider signing the on-line vaccination petition:
http://www.petitiononline.com/petvax23/petition.html
Thank you.
Ginger
NEW VACCINATION PROTOCOL
by Dr. Jean Dodds
Note: All of the 27 Vet Universities in the US have followed the immunization protocol as suggested by Dr. Dodds for years
I would like to make you aware that all 27 veterinary schools in North America are in the process of changing their protocols for vaccinating dogs and cats. Some of this information will present an ethical & economic challenge to Vets, and there will be skeptics. Some organizations have come up with a political compromise suggesting vaccinations every 3 years to appease those who fear loss of income vs. those concerned about potential side effects. Politics, traditions, or the doctors' economic well-being should not be a factor in a medical decision.
NEW PRINCIPLES OF IMMUNOLOGY
Dogs' and cats' immune systems mature fully at 6 months. If a modified live virus vaccine is given after 6 months of age, it produces immunity, which is good for the life of the pet (i.e.,: canine distemper, parvo, feline distemper.) If another MLV vaccine is given a year later, the antibodies from the first vaccine neutralize the antigens of the second vaccine and there is little or no effect. The titer is not "boosted" nor are more memory cells induced. Not only are annual boosters for parvo and distemper unnecessary, they subject the pet to potential risks of allergic reactions and immune-mediated hemolytic anemia. There is no scientific documentation to back up label claims for annual administration of MLV vaccines. Puppies receive antibodies through their mother's milk. This natural protection can last 8 - 14 weeks. Puppies & kittens should NOT be vaccinated at LESS than 8 weeks. Maternal immunity will neutralize the vaccine and little protection (0-38%) will be produced. Vaccination at 6 weeks will, however, DELAY the timing of the first highly effective vaccine. Vaccinations given 2 weeks apart SUPPRESS rather than stimulate the immune system. A series of vaccinations is given starting at 8 weeks and given 3-4 weeks apart up to 16 weeks of age. Another vaccination given sometime after 6 months of age will provide LIFETIME IMMUNITY.
As for Rabies vaccine, it is a law that all dogs must be vaccinated according to each state. Currently all but two states require annual vaccines and all the rest will honor three-year vaccines. Write and call your local state animal control agencies and petition for acceptance of rabies titers in lieu of repeated vaccination for licensing.
What Every Veterinarian Should Know About Canine and Feline Vaccines and Vaccination Programs
- Ronald D. Schultz, PhD
As always, Dr. Schultz delivered an informative, provocative and important message to all attendees at the 2004 Conference.
General Principles
He began by reminding us that the original vaccinologists were all virologists. He then compared Innate or Natural Immunity which is nonspecific with Acquired or Adaptive Immunity which is specific. The former is present from birth, operates against any substance, and is not enhanced by prior exposure, whereas the latter is a defense mechanism, tailored to individual pathogens, and is enhanced by prior exposure. Age is related to innate immunity, as eventually there is immune senescence which plays a role in longevity. Vaccines sometimes enhance innate immunity, although they are designed to enhance acquired immunity. An example is the intranasal kennel cough vaccine, which is preferred over the parenteral version, as it stimulates innate immunity immediately.
In the presence of Protective Immunity, when re-infection occurs, the immune challenge agent(s) is recognized by pre-formed antibody and effector T-cells; rapid expansion and differentiation of the effector cells occurs; and the infectious agent(s) is removed. When Immunologic Memory is present, only mild or unapparent infection occurs; this protection may last a lifetime. Effector B-cells are plasma cells that live for at least 10 years and likely forever in the bone marrow. Sterile Immunity exists when there is no infection or unapparent reinfection.
The endocrine and nervous systems are intimately interactive with the immune system, i.e. neuroendocrine system and immunity.
It was in 1978 that Ron Schultz and Fred Scott at Cornell first recommended triennial vaccination [Vet Clin N Am 8(4):755-768, 1978]. So it has taken 25 years for this recommendation to be adopted by veterinary scientists, industry, and mainstream veterinary medicine!
Cell-Mediated Immunity is not important in canine parvovirus (CPV) but very important in canine distemper virus (CDV) infections. In the presence of very low or no measurable immunity to CDV after appropriate vaccination, it is basically useless to revaccinate. Currently licensed CDV vaccines, including the recombinant (Merial) vaccine, produce excellent sustained immunity. He recommends giving MLV CDV vaccines twice, once before 12 weeks and once after 12 weeks of age, then every 3 years thereafter. For the recombinant vaccine, he recommends vaccination at 6, 8, and 12 weeks of age, then every 3 years thereafter.
Core Vaccines. These for dogs are distemper, parvovirus, adenovirus 2 (CAV-2), and rabies; for the cat, core vaccines are panleukopenia and rabies. The last dose of vaccine must be given at 12 weeks or older, and revaccination is given at 1 year of age or 1 year later. Non-Core Vaccines for dogs are Leptospirosis, Bordetella, Lyme , and canine parainfluenza vaccines; for cats, these are calicovirus and herpes (rhinotracheitis) viruses. Canine corona virus and Giardia vaccines are generally not recommended.
Duration of Immunity
The minimum duration of immunity (DOI) is 7-10 years for CDV, CPV-2, and CAV-2. Booster vaccination more than every 3 years offers no benefit. Two methods are used to measure DOI: disease agent challenge studies, and serology measurements. But, what is the DOI for natural infection for these important pathogens? The protection generated by MLV vaccines is equivalent to that of natural infection or disease. For killed vaccines, DOI is usually less and immunity is less complete. Recovery from disease is for life with CDV, CPV-2, and CAV-2.
CPV lives in the environment for years or more, whereas CDV is fragile and survives about 15 minutes in the naked state. With CDV exposure, one has up to 72 hours to vaccinate and still induce protection, but with CPV, one has only 72 minutes. In specific pathogen-free animals, vaccination against core agents lasts at least 4 ½ years.
After only 1 dose of rabies vaccine, DOI is 5-7 years based on serologic titers.
Pfizer's published study in January 2004 showed DOI of at least 4 years for their 5-way canine and 3-way feline vaccines. Schering Plough now guarantees their CDV, CPV, and CAV-2 vaccines for 3 years; their panleukopenia and FeLV vaccines are also guaranteed for 3 years. Fort Dodge recently showed 3-–year protection after challenge studies for their CDV, CPV, and CAV-2 vaccines.
Miscellaneous
Feline Leukemia Vaccine. Recommends product by Fort Dodge or Schering Plough; 2 doses must be given 3 weeks apart, and preferably at 9 and 12 weeks of age. No measurable titers are typically found, and no more vaccines are needed for cats over 1 year of age as FeLV is not that contagious.
Lyme disease. Infection and disease seen mostly in northeast and around the Great Lakes region. Vaccination is generally not recommended except in high-risk areas, and then only the recombinant vaccine is recommended at the beginning of the tick season. [Generally good advice to avoid bacterin vaccines, whenever possible, as they are immune modulators (e.g. Lyme, Leptospirosis, and Bordetella parenterals; intranasal Bordetella is satisfactory).]
Leptospirosis Vaccine. As a zoonotic disease, there is concern about contagion with leptospira spp. However, vaccination does not prevent against shedding of the organism, so it is not protective of others. Even 2 vaccinations and annual boosters will not adequately protect against re-infection, because of t