©The following information is reprinted with the permission of Dr. Bob Rogers, DVM, Critter Fixer Pet Hospital, Spring, Texas.
I would like to make you aware that the American Association of Feline Practitioners , The Academy of Veterinary Internal Medicine, The American Animal Hospital Association, The American Veterinary Medical Association , Council on Biologic and Therapeutic Agents, and 22 Veterinary Schools in North America have changed their recommended protocols for vaccinating cats & dogs. 1,2,3 Our knowledge about immunity and the quality of available vaccines has improved greatly over the past seven years.
The AVMA Council on Biologic and Therapeutic Agents (COBTA) presented their consensus at the July, 2000 137th Annual AVMA Convention. They focused on the following points:
- When an annual booster vaccination with a modified live virus vaccine (i.e. Distemper , Parvovirus or Fe Distemper) is given to a previously vaccinated adult animal - no added protection is provided. Modified live virus vaccines depend on the replication of the virus for a response. Antibodies from previous vaccines do not allow the new virus to replicate. Antibody titers are not boosted significantly, memory cell populations are not expanded. No additional protection is provided.4
- Vaccine Manufacturers label claims should be backed by scientific data. There is no scientific data to support label directions for re-administration of MLV vaccines annually.5
- Vaccinations are important for the prevention of diseases. Annual physical exams at the time of vaccination help improve health by the early detection of treatable disease and contribute to the overall quality of life.
- Vaccines are not harmless. Unnecessary side effects and adverse events can be minimized by avoiding unnecessary vaccinations.
- Virus drift is small. There are no new parvovirus strains, and the virus in the vaccine has remained essentially the same.
- Average pets are similar enough in their exposure to infectious disease and in their response to vaccines that we can have a Standard recommended Vaccination Protocol.
- The AVMA Council for Biologic and Therapeutic Agents COBTA urges the USDA, Center for Veterinary Biologics to revise its standards for the licensing of animal vaccines and the USDA. CVB has agreed that this should be done.
- Veterinarians need a standard procedure to report adverse events from vaccinations.
This new information has presented an ethical and economic challenge to veterinarians. There are skeptics, and there are those who remain un-informed. I think you will agree with me that in the practice of medicine, the emphasis should be on safety, and that no medicine should be given more frequently, longer, or at a higher dose than is necessary.
Some organizations have come up with a political compromise suggesting vaccinations every 3 years6 to appease those who fear loss of income vs. those concerned about potential side effects. Politics, traditions, or the doctor's economic well being should not be a factor in medical decisions.
Sincerely,
Dr. Bob Rogers, DVM
Critter Fixer Pet Hospital
Spring,Texas
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: Does my dog need a "booster shot" for rabies, distemper, and parvovirus every year?The American Animal Hospital Association, The American Veterinary Medical Association, the American Association of Feline Practitioners, and Texas A & M School of Veterinary Medicine, as well as the Texas Department of Public Health have revised their recommendations for pet vaccinations.
Annual vaccinations for diseases like Rabies, Distemper and Parvovirus are no longer recommended.
The duration of immunity for these vaccines has been scientifically proven to be over 7 years, and probably the life of the pet. More importantly, it has been proven that re-administration of these vaccines does not make the patient more immune. The immunity induced by the first vaccine blocks the next vaccine. The client is paying for something with no effect; except that the pet is being exposed the unnecessary risk of an adverse reaction.
Q: Does my dog need Corona virus vaccine?
The American Animal Hospital Association released the 2003 Vaccination Guidelines for dogs. Corona virus vaccine was not recommended. Texas A & M Veterinary School has not recommended Corona vaccine for over 15 years.
Corona virus causes a self- limiting diarrhea only in dogs less than 8 weeks of age. It is a very rare disease. At Texas A & M they have only seen one case in over 10 years.
Scientists have never been able to demonstrate that corona virus causes disease in adult dogs. Adult dogs are immune to corona virus whether they are vaccinated or not. Vaccination of adult dogs provides no benefit.
Q: My cat died from a Vaccine Associated Fibrosarcomas. Are cat vaccines safe?
Over ten years ago Veterinarians discovered that cats were developing cancer at the site of vaccinations. An Injection Site Fibrosarcoma or Vaccine Associated Sarcoma (VAS) is a fatal type of cancer caused by vaccines. Even with surgery, radiation treatments, and chemotherapy, very few cats live longer than three years.
Adjuvant is put in vaccines to stimulate the immune system. Adjuvanted vaccines have been shown to be 5 times more likely to create VAS, than non- adjuvanted vaccines. Adjuvanted vaccines were declared a carcinogen for cats by the World Health Association in 1999.
To prevent VAS the AVMA-VAS Task Force as well as the American Association of Feline Practitioners and Texas A & M University recommend reduced vaccine schedules, and safer alternative vaccines like non- adjuvanted vaccines and intranasal vaccines. Over 22,000 cats in the U.S. die from VAS every year, many from vaccinations they did not even need. And yet, few Veterinarians, less than 10%, offer the safer alternatives.
Q: Some Vets reccomend Feline Aids, FIV Vaccine, and Feline Infectious Peritonitis, FIP vaccine. Does my cat need these vaccines?
When Feline Aids or FIV vaccine was introduced it was heralded as a major break through. Scientists have tried unsuccessfully for over two decades to develop a human AIDs vaccine. Is the Feline AIDs vaccine too good to be true? There are 5 Clades or types of Feline FIV viruses. The vaccine contains two Clades, A & D. The Clade that causes FIV in the US is Clade B. The cross protection is poor. This is an adjuvanted vaccine so it is at risk of causing a vaccine-associated sarcoma. The American Association of Feline Practitioners wrote the USDA and asked them not to license the vaccine.
Feline corona virus is a normal virus of healthy cats. Rarely it mutates to become the virulent FIP virus. Each mutation is unique. They are not the same as the virus in the vaccine. Efficacy has not been substantiated by independent studies.
Why would the USDA license vaccines that do not contain the same virus that causes the disease? The American Veterinary Medical Association wrote to the USDA Center for Veterinary Medicine in 1998 and requested that they revise their standards for licensing vaccines. The USDA continuse to license vaccines whose efficacy is unsubstantiated by independent studies, like Feline Ringworm vaccine and Giardia vaccine.
Visit New Vaccination Protocols - A Review of the Literature for more information.
NOTES:
1Ford, Richard B. Vaccines and Vaccinations: Issues for the 21stCentury: Vaccine Technology in the 21st Century. Compendium on Continuing Education for the Practicing Veterinarian, 20(Suppl.8C), 19-24. (1998)
2Paul, Michael & Wolfe, Alice M. - Vaccinations: What's right? What's Not? Proceedings of the North American Veterinary Conference. Wilmington, Delaware: Gloyd Group Publishing (1999)
3Wolfe, Alice M. - Just the facts about vaccs: Frequently asked questions about current vaccination recommendations and practice guidelines. Proceedings from the North American Veterinary Conference, 13, 681. (1999)
4b) Schultz, R.D. Duration of Immunity to Canine Vaccines: What We Know and What We Don't Know. URL: http://www.critteradvocacy.org/Duration%20of%20Immunity.htm. Accessed May 31, 2005.
5Ibid.
6Paul, Michael & Wolfe, Alice M., op. cit. note 1, pp. 41