This message is from: Lori Albrough <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> millcreekfjords wrote:
> Our vet is recommending the EPM vaccine this year. He avoided it last year > because it was so new new but feels it's worth giving this year. Does > anyone have an opionion on the vaccine? The following information is from the University of Michigan's March 2001 newsletter: "Should I Use the New EPM Vaccine? Some veterinarians and parasitologists have serious concerns about the new EPM vaccine that will soon come out on the market for horse owners. Mainly, these concerns center on the safety and efficacy of the vaccine. Although 890 apparently normal horses were given the vaccine with only a low number of side effects, there was no testing done to see how a horse with a history of previous EPM reacts to the vaccine. Therefore, we have no idea of how a horse with Sarcocystis neurona either with or without active disease will react to the vaccine. Will there be autoimmune disease? Will there be exacerbation of low-level disease? We dont know. Additionally, no tests were done to determine whether the EPM vaccine would actually work to protect horses against the parasite. At this time, it is difficult to test the efficacy of vaccines for Sarcocystis neurona in horses. There are no test systems worked out that can provide a useful answer about the efficacy of a new vaccine. So once again, we do not know whether this vaccine will work. More research needs to be done to make this possible. We do expect that some people will decide to try the new vaccine in their horses. Unfortunately, unless they participate in the study organized to examine the effects of vaccinating horses with the EPM vaccine, we will not learn much from their experience. However, we will make every effort to disseminate information about any possible adverse effects or positive results regarding the new vaccine in subsequent issues of this newsletter." The second paragraph should be of concern to anyone contemplating using the vaccine. They do not know if it works! Remember that if you do vaccinate your horse he will then test positive for EPM antibodies through serum and probably cerebral spinal fluid - these are currently the only ways to diagnose EPM. Therefore, if your horse develops EPM symptoms, and you had vaccinated him previously, you have no way of diagnosing what's wrong. Developing a vaccine to protect against a protozoa is extraordinarily difficult. If it was less difficult, they'd have a vaccine for malaria in humans by now. EPM and malaria are caused by a protozoa in the same family. I don't think this vaccine has a conditional licence in Canada, but if it did, I wouldn't use it. My horses are not guinea pigs. I think Fort Dodge is trying to make a quick buck off fear of EPM in horse owners. Shame on them. Lori A.
