New Approach to Vaccination of the Canine, part 3 The Lower-priority (non-core) Vaccines
Again it comes down to risk vs benefit. Killed vaccines are more risky in the short term, ie, more likely to cause immediate adverse reactions (anaphylaxis/anaphylactic shock) than live vaccines, and bacterial vaccines more risky than viral ones. Those generalities would denote Leptospira (killed bacterial) as the most likely of the commonly used vaccines to cause anaphylaxis, followed by Borrelia/Lyme's Disease (killed/recombinant bacterial), and Rabies (killed viral), Corona and Bordetella. Corona is available as modified live viral, but the killed viral preparation is commonly used. Bordetella bronchiseptica is a bacterial vaccine, available as modified live and killed; the nasal preparation is thought to have the highest benefit-risk ratio. The Leptospirosis vaccine is a controversial one. Leptospirosis is an important disease because it can be transmitted to man and some other animals, and can cause severe kidney disease. As mentioned above, it is one of the vaccines most likely to cause a fatal anaphylaxis in puppies, so many breeders just don't give it. Until recently, the vaccine only covered two serovars and was effective in less than 50-75% of dogs that received the vaccine. But two more serovars have been recently added, and leptospirosis has become endemic in some areas. Therefore, the decision to include Leptospira will have to be made on the basis of its presence in the dog's area, as well as the future performance of the two new serovars. The value of the Canine Coronavirus vaccine is also controversial. Some authors go as far as to say that it is not needed. Corona is a highly contagious virus, but one that rarely causes death in an adult dog. It may cause protracted diarrhea, though, and can be fatal to puppies, so the decision on whether or not to vaccinate for Coronavirus probably depends on how much exposure your dogs have to outside dogs, and also whether or not you raise puppies in your home. Many breeders choose to vaccinate their adults just one time in hopes that it will decrease the possibility that they will bring the Coronavirus home to their puppies. Vaccinations for Borrelia/Lyme's Disease and Giardia are generally not necessary for the large population of toy dogs that spend most of their time on the couch. But some of the sportier toys and those in endemic areas may be vulnerable, so it is best to consult with your veterinarian and possibly the Public Health Department in making decisions regarding Leptospira, Borrelia, Corona, and Giardia vaccines. Bordetella bronchiseptica is a bacteria that causes infection of the trachea and bronchi; the infection is commonly called "kennel cough", and is kin to the human "whooping cough". The Bordetella bronchiseptica vaccine is often given when dogs are likely to be exposed to large numbers of other dogs, such as a dog show or boarding kennel. It is available both as injection and as a nasal inhalant. The inhalant vaccine is thought to be less likely to cause a severe reaction, and also to have less interference by immunity from colostrum. Immunization to Parainfluenza and CAV-2 is thought to enhance the protection of the Bordetella vaccine. Unfortunately, the Bordetella vaccine is not one of the more efficient ones, having a short duration and about a 70% protection rate, but I expect we will have more efficient vaccines in the future. Considerations for Toy Breeds It does appear that toy breeds may have more adverse reactions to vaccines, so a less-frequent vaccination schedule may be of particular benefit to this group. The most frightening response is severe anaphylaxis, most common after killed bacterial vaccines such as leptospirosis. There are some vets who will not give a leptospirosis vaccine to a dog under ten pounds for this reason. The one milliliter dose volume listed on most vaccine labels is recommended because that was the volume tested during the licensing process. During the efficacy testing, the issue of breed was ignored. Consequently, we really don't have studies to tell us if the Toy Poodle should get the same volume as the Great Dane. Although a natural inclination would be to halve the dose for toy breeds, there is little or no scientific data to back up that recommendation. Human studies, though, advise against decreasing dosage on the basis of size. In a study of premature babies given half of a DTP vaccination, those babies did not appear to develop an adequate immune response to Pertussis. (9) A common compromise used by breeders is to halve the dose of the vaccination during the initial puppy series, giving a full dose after 16 weeks. Leptospirosis is usually omitted until after a year of age, or omitted entirely, unless there is local concern about the disease. This may change after the performance of the new vaccine is evaluated. The future The veterinary community is somewhat hampered by lack of adequate funding for the research needed, but the future should bring more efficient vaccines. Instead of modified-live virus, we will probably have vaccines available made from recombinant DNA. We may also see more nasal vaccines, which may be less likely to cause adverse reactions. Hopefully, more work will be done to correlate antibody titers with immunization to clinical disease. It would also be nice to see some studies done comparing the prevalence of autoimmune disease between groups of annually-vaccinated dogs, and dogs vaccinated less frequently under the new proposals. And of course, there will need to be more studies regarding the actual duration of immunity following vaccination. We can help by encouraging our breed clubs to contribute to funding of veterinary research. ----- Questions regarding the article may be directed to [EMAIL PROTECTED] The above article is merely an exploration of changing trends in vaccination and should not be misconstrued as advice. Consult your veterinarian before making changes in your vaccination program. References: (1)Duval D, Giger U. Vaccine-induced immune-mediated hemolytic anemia in the dog. J Vet Intern Med 1996. (2)Hogenesch H, et al. Vaccine-induce autoimmunity in the dog. In: Schultz RD, ed. Advances in Veterinary Medicine 41: Veterinary Vaccines and Diagnostics. San Diego: Academic Press, 1999; 715-732 (3)Schultz, RD Duration of Immunity to Canine Vaccines, Canine Infectious Disease Workshop, James A Baker Institute, August 1999 (4) Recent Advances in Canine Infectious Diseases, L Carmichael, editor. Baker Institute for Animal Health, College of Veterinary Medicine, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York, USA (5) McCaw DL; Thompson M; Tate D; Bonderer A; Chen YJ ,Department of Veterinary Medicine and Surgery, College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Missouri, Columbia. J Am Vet Med Assoc, 1998 Jul, 213:1, 72-5 (6) Vet Clin North Am Small Anim Pract. 2001 Jan p 442 (7)http://www.cvmbs.colostate.edu/vth/savp2.html (8) http://ighawaii.com/naturally/doddsvac.html (9) Pediatrics 1989 April 83(4) 471-6 Half-dose immunization for diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis: response of preterm infants. 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