Tuesday, June 17, 2014

Let's Talk About Doggy Vaccines

There is SO much information out there about vaccines and I answer many questions on a daily basis about these little mystery injections.  I thought a little info on my blog might clear a few things up for some folks.

Today we are gonna talk about canine vaccines, but don't you worry, I'll cover kitty vaccines soon.


Types of Vaccines

There are different types of vaccines out there and the ones you give depends on what diseases you are trying to prevent.  For example, you give a Rabies vaccine in order to prevent your pet from contracting rabies.   Another example is giving a distemper/parvo combo vaccine to prevent your pet from getting either of those diseases.

Some vaccines are given every year while others are given every 3 years.  There are a few reasons for this.  The biggest reason is that we now have studies showing that most of the vaccines made from viruses that are used to prevent viral infections are effective for more than just one year.  This includes vaccines such as rabies, distemper and parvo. 

Other vaccines, such as leptospirosis and bordetella, are made from bacteria and are called bacterins.  Studies show that bacterins do not have the longevity associated with them as do vaccines made from viruses.  Because of this, we still have to give these vaccines on a yearly basis.

Vaccine Recommendations

The American Animal Hospital Association (AAHA) provides a guideline for how to give vaccines.  We at Animal Care Hospital follow these guidelines as well as those put forth by WSAVA (World Small Animal Veterinary Association).

As a doctor whose main goal is to educate people about proper vaccination, I find the amount of wrong information out there regarding appropriate vaccine schedules to be incredibly frustrating.

I can't change where people get their pet's vaccines, but I can do my best to provide easy-to-understand information regarding the proper way to obtain the most from those vaccines for the health of their beloved pets.

Here are some very fun facts about vaccines and Animal Care Hospital:

1.)  We follow both AAHA and WSAVA guidelines on vaccines schedules.   This means we recommend that the distemper/parvo/adenovirus vaccine be given as a series to puppies, then boostered at one year of age.  At that time the boosters should not be given any more often than every 3 years.  If your vaccine clinic or veterinarian is recommending this vaccine be given more often than that (after their puppy series and one year booster) then please ask them if they have read the current guidelines.

2.)  We consider both leptospirosis vaccine and bordatella vaccine to be important non-core vaccines  because of the prevalence of these diseases in our area.  Leptospirosis is what we call a zoonotic disease because you can actually catch it from your dog if he is not vaccinated against it.

Many veterinarians in the high desert do not give this vaccine and we have recently diagnosed some cases of leptospirosis.  The reason is because this vaccine historically had a high rate of serious reactions.  Now, with improvements in the manufacture of this vaccine, we rarely see reactions to it.  This vaccine protects your dog but also protects YOU.

3.)  We have recently switched to different types of vaccines.   We now use a new oral bordetella vaccine which our patients LOVE!   Also, with new studies and information and better manufacturing practices, we are also starting to use a new lower volume vaccine, the 1/2 mL DAP (distemper/parvo/adenovirus) vaccine.  Less pain at the injection site and less chance for vaccine reaction!

4.)  Last, but not least, there is a very important reason behind a proper schedule of boosters.  There is a phenomenon called vaccine interference.  This basically means that if you inappropriately give any two vaccines within days of each other - instead of the recommended 2-3 week interval - one of those vaccines will be rendered less effective or not effective at all.  We see patients all of the time who were given one vaccine on Monday and then another on Friday - WRONG!  You MUST either give all vaccines at the same time (for example:  a DAP and a Rabies Vaccine) or you MUST split them up by 2-3 weeks, which is often the preference to minimize the chances of a vaccine reaction.  If you do not do this, you run the risk of minimizing the effectiveness of one of those vaccines and you are putting your pet at risk.

So if you have questions about the PROPER way to administer vaccines, please come in for an appointment.  It really is important to administer vaccines in the correct manner with the appropriate vaccine schedule.  That information is always evolving, so be sure to come see us so you can rest assured that your pet is being vaccinated with the most current recommendations available.

-- Dr. Deb