Dog Vaccinations.
Why do we need to vaccinate?
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Annual vaccinations are needed to protect your pet from several highly infectious and potentially fatal diseases. This visit also allows us to perform a thorough clinical examination in order to pick up any concurrent issues early.
There are many viruses and bacteria that can cause illness in our pets. However, there are some that can spread rapidly through a population, can cause lifelong problems, severe illness and can even be fatal. Thankfully, their prevalence is much lower due to the availability and uptake of vaccinations. Vaccinations prepare the immune system for potential contact with these infectious agents effectively ‘teaching’ the immune system how to fight an infection. By doing this, vaccinations significantly reduce the severity of illness and the likelihood of spread if a pet does contract the disease. The prevalence of these diseases and new emerging strains are constantly being reviewed and vaccine guidance adapted to the most recent research. Therefore, we do not have a blanket approach to vaccination advice – this is instead tailored to each pet based on their lifestyle and risk factors and we are happy to discuss this at any time. The presence of maternally derived antibodies (protective antibodies passed from the mum via the placenta and colostrum in the first few hours of birth) interfere with the ability of the animal to mount its own active response to a vaccine. It is for this reason we have to time vaccinations to coincide with a reduction in these initial antibodies.
What do we vaccinate against?
Canine Distemper
Canine Infectious Hepatitis (Canine Adenovirus-1)
Canine Parvovirus
This is a highly contagious virus which causes serious illness and in unvaccinated dogs is sadly often fatal. Distemper spreads via the air or through contact with body fluids from infected dogs. There are a wide range of symptoms including coughing, runny eyes and nose, diarrhoea, high temperature, thickened pads, tremors and fits. There is no specific treatment and only supportive measures can be taken whilst the dog’s body tries to fight the infection. Thankfully due to vaccination this is now rarely seen in the UK but does still occur where there are populations of unvaccinated dogs.
Infectious hepatitis is caused by a virus that attacks the liver. Infected dogs have lethargy, depression, anorexia, jaundice, abdominal pain, a fever and in severe cases severe bleeding which can be fatal. It is transmitted via ingestion of bodily fluids (urine, faeces, saliva) of an infected dog. Treatment is supportive only and infected dogs can excrete the virus in their urine for several months.
Unfortunately, Parvovirus is still relatively common in the UK, seen mostly in areas with a large population of unvaccinated dogs. Parvovirus is very infectious, spread via contact with infected faeces (either directly or indirectly) and is extremely hardy in the environment. The virus attacks rapidly dividing cells in the bone marrow and the intestines resulting in lethargy, depression, vomiting, bloody diarrhoea, dehydration, fever and shock. Unfortunately, due to the severity of infection, even with intensive care, a vast proportion of cases are fatal.
Canine Leptospirosis
Also known as Weil’s Disease, this is a bacterial infection which can cause serious illness in dogs but can also be transmitted to humans as well (zoonotic). It spreads in urine (from rats, dogs and cattle) and can survive in water or soil for many months. The highest risk of infection comes with access to stagnant or slow flowing water, on farmland or environments which have rats nearby. The bacteria can enter the body through mucous membranes or damaged skin. Symptoms are initially vague but then progress to include lethargy, anorexia, vomiting, diarrhoea, jaundice and bleeding issues as the liver and kidneys are targeted. In severe cases, the infection can result in death. There are different strains (‘serovars’) of the bacterium. As with any vaccines (human or animal), they are constantly modified to provide protection against the most relevant disease strains and leptospirosis is no different. Traditionally vaccines have been given against two of these but more recent evidence shows an increasing prevalence of the other strains. For this reason the recommendations are now to offer vaccines covering the four strains known to be in the UK.
Canine Infectious Tracheobronchitis (Kennel Cough)
Rabies
There are two main pathogens which cause ‘Kennel Cough’ – Parainfluenza virus and the bacterium Bordetella bronchiseptica. It is a highly contagious airborne disease which causes an acute onset harsh, dry cough, sometimes accompanied by a fever, loss of appetite and lethargy. It is generally a mild self-limiting disease but can progress to pneumonia in puppies or to chronic bronchitis in debilitated adult or aged dogs. As there are multiple strains of kennel cough, dogs can become infected more than once but symptoms and shedding of the disease are significantly reduced with vaccination. In most cases this vaccine is given intranasally however there are oral and injectable options available where needed. This is required yearly. Although protection cannot be guaranteed, the majority of boarding kennels and day care facilities will require this vaccination to be given.
Although not present in the UK (yet), rabies is a deadly virus that can infect animals and humans via saliva. It attacks the brain and nerves, causing severe distressing symptoms and eventually death. There is no treatment and euthanasia is essential to ease suffering and prevent further transmission. As other countries are not free of Rabies it is essential, they are vaccinated against rabies before travelling to other countries in order to prevent it becoming endemic in the UK. This is usually a single injection every 3 years but some countries have different requirements so it is essential to check before travel. We have further information available regarding pet travel on the website.
How often do we need to vaccinate?
For the majority of dogs, the licensed regime of two vaccine doses is given 2-4 weeks apart with the final one given at >10 weeks of age. However, some dogs seem to have a slower reduction in natural antibodies and the revised WSAVA guidelines (based on global risk) recommend a 3rd vaccination at 16 weeks of age as a ‘belts and braces’ approach. The first booster vaccination is generally given at 1 year of age but can be given from 6 months of age if there are concerns over their immunity or risk. Distemper, hepatitis and parvovirus vaccinations are then given every 3 years. Leptospirosis immunity does not last longer than 1 year therefore this is needed annually.
How do I know that vaccines are safe?
In the UK, all veterinary medicines (including vaccines) have to meet rigorous safety, efficacy and quality standards which are regulated by a government agency known as the Veterinary Medicines Directorate (VMD). Serious adverse reactions to vaccines still remain extremely rare and the benefits of vaccination continue to outweigh this small risk.
Are there alternatives to vaccination?
A vaccine titre test is a blood test that assesses whether there are enough antibodies in an animal to protect against certain diseases. However, there are limitations with this. For dogs, titre testing is only available for Distemper, Hepatitis & Parvovirus. There is no titre test for Leptospirosis. These tests are advised annually and can be significantly more expensive than vaccinating. We follow the WSAVA guidelines on vaccination frequency to avoid unnecessary ‘over-vaccinating’. Given the safety profile and very rare adverse reactions with UK vaccinations we do still recommend vaccinating our patients however there are occasions where titre testing is appropriate and we are more than happy to discuss this with you if you have any further queries.