Pet Lovers: Vaccines are being re-evaluated for their effectiveness and safety

[Franky]

I thought this was a good read on vaccines for pets.

Vaccines, once thought of as providing great benefits to animals with few side effects, are being examined more closely these days. We are discovering that vaccines may not be as harmless as thought.

One widely respected national veterinary organization, the American Animal Hospital Association, recently published vaccine guidelines for dogs, and many veterinarians use these recommendations to guide their selections. This excellent, 28-page publication can be viewed online at the AAHA Web site, www.aahanet.org.

Vaccines are separated into three categories: core vaccines (universally recommended), noncore vaccines (optional) and not recommended vaccines. Core vaccines should be given to all dogs and noncore vaccines only if the risk of exposure to disease is sufficient to warrant its use. Not recommended vaccines are viewed as not effective or considered to contain potential risks that outweigh their use.

Core vaccines are rabies, parvovirus (modified live), distemper and adenovirus-2 (modified live).

Noncore vaccines include distemper-measles, parainfluenza, Bordetella (kennel cough), Lyme and leptospirosis. Not recommended vaccines are Parvovirus (killed), adenovirus-1, adenovirus-2 (killed), coronavirus and giardia.

Regarding the vaccines given to your dog, DA2PPV/LCI-GP stands for distemper, adenovirus-2, parainfluenza, parvovirus and leptospirosis (CI-GP refers to the four strains of leptospirosis included in the vaccine). Distemper, adenovirus-2 and parvovirus are core vaccines, and parainfluenza and leptospirosis are noncore but recommended by your veterinarian.

Lyme Vac is lyme vaccine, recommended by some veterinarians if tick exposure is likely. Giardia Antigen Elisa tests to see if your dog carries the giardia organism, so there should be no side effects with it. The Heartworm/Ehrlichia/ Lyme Snap is another test which carries no potential side effects.

A good vaccination program is an essential part of preventative health care. To minimize potential side effects, many veterinarians are individualizing vaccine programs, giving only those vaccines where the potential exposure to disease warrants use.

When discussing vaccinations with your veterinarian, think about all situations your dog is likely to face in his daily life. Will he stay at kennels? Will he get groomed on a regular basis? Will your dog go for walks in the woods regularly? Will your dog play at dog parks or day-care facilities? Will you travel with your dog to other parts of the country, and which areas are you likely to visit? Your dog's potential exposure to disease will help determine what vaccines are needed.

Formulating such a program for each animal takes considerable medical knowledge and expertise. Your veterinarian works hard to keep current within his profession, and you should rely on his guidance when deciding which vaccines should be given to your pet.

The only vaccine that Delaware requires for your dog is rabies. On the other vaccines you must decide with your veterinarian what is best for your dog.

If you feel that your dog has had a vaccine reaction, it is important to let your veterinarian know.

Side effects can be as mild as soreness at the injection site that will disappear after 12-24 hours. Reactions also can be severe and even life-threatening, causing weakness, collapse and death. For this reason, you should always consult your veterinarian should you suspect your pet is having a reaction.

Premedication with an antihistamine can help prevent reactions; diphenhydramine (Benadryl) is the drug most often used for this purpose. Sometimes it is given as an injection during an office visit, and other times in a pill an hour or so before the vaccination. It is usually effective.

Bacterial disease vaccines (such as leptospirosis or Lyme) are believed more likely to cause reactions since they tend to be harder to purify.

Occasionally a lump may form at the injection site. It is usually not serious and will often disappear in a few weeks. In a few cases, however, those lumps can turn into a cancerous mass that is extremely hard to remove. Any suspicious lumps should be checked by your veterinarian.

In the future, he may recommend that your dog be given vaccines singly rather than in a multidose. He may recommend discontinuing a particular vaccine rather than risking a future reaction.

One alternative to giving vaccines at regular intervals is to measure an animal's immune status. A blood sample is checked for the presence of antibodies against the particular disease in question. If the antibody levels are high enough to be protective, no vaccine is necessary. If the levels are low, vaccine can be given to boost immunity.

Unfortunately, it is more expensive to perform blood antibody titers than it is to give regular vaccine boosters. There also is some controversy as to whether the antibody titers measured by blood testing truly represent an animal's resistance to a disease.
Dr. Jim Berg is a veterinarian in Bear. Write to him at the Animal Veterinary Center, 160 Bear-Christiana Road, Bear, DE 19701, visit www.animalvetcenter.com or e-mail questions@animalvetcenter.com.