New Vaccination Guidelines WSAVA

[zeta1454]

I am glad that you have found a vet willing to do as you ask. It is really depressing how many vets nowadays are either ignorant of the current Vaccination Guidelines or prefer to turn a blind eye to maintain their profits. Sadly more and more vet practices are now being taken over by corporate businesses who have no knowledge or interest in animal welfare and whose sole aim is maximising financial profits for their shareholders.

I know that it can be difficult when confronted by an obstructive vet to stick to your decisions for the best welfare of your dog. However, it is the vet who refuses to acknowledge the most up to date research and recommendations of their own professional peers who is at fault and s/he should be asked to explain why they have chosen to disregard these recommendations and whether they can provide the evidence to back up their opinions which are in contradiction to the expert veterinarians in the field of immunology and vaccines.

[zeta1454]

I was disappointed today to see that certain vet practices still seem to be ignoring the professional advice of the WSAVA guidelines regarding vaccination. Due to the current restrictions because of the COVID-19 outbreak, vet practices are making adjustments to their services and schedules and publicising changes online. A recent advert for a particular practice explained in their notification to clients that certain services including vaccination were being suspended until 4 May. The post contained the following statement:

"...I know the biggest worry is vaccinations lapsing. There is a 3 month window in which to get vaccination done, should your pet exceed this we will be offering the start up course for the same price as the standard booster from May the 4th..."

There is no need or justification for any "start-up course" for the three core vaccines against Distemper, Hepatitis and Parvovirus (DHP) as confirmed in the FAQs of the Vaccination Guidelines:

"If an animal has gone beyond the time that is generally considered to be the minimum DOI for the core vaccine (7 to 9 years for CDV, CPV-2, CAV-2; 7 years for FPV), do I have to start the series of vaccinations again (multiple doses 2–4 weeks apart)?

No. For MLV vaccines, multiple doses are only required for puppies or kittens which have MDA. The VGG is aware that many data sheets do advise re-starting a vaccination series, but does not endorse this practice which is inconsistent with fundamental immune system function and the principles of immunological memory."*

*To explain the initials:
DOI is Duration of Immunity (length of protection against disease)
CDV is Canine Distemper; CPV-2 is Canine Parvovirus and CAV - Canine Adenovirus (Hepatitis)
MLV - Modified Live Virus, MDA - Maternally Derived Antibodies

If a dog is being given a Leptospirosis vaccine which does need to be given regularly, the initial doses are 2 jabs given between 2 and 6 weeks apart and, after that just one dose annually or at a greater interval. Unless a puppy is part way through getting the initial first 2 doses, there is no need to "start again". The following is the professional guidance quoted from the FAQs:

"When an animal first receives a vaccine that requires two doses to immunize (e.g. killed vaccines like Leptospira bacterins or feline leukaemia virus), and it does not return for the second dose within 6 weeks, is there any immunity?
No. A single dose of a two-dose vaccine does not provide immunity. The first dose is for priming the immune system, the second for immunizing. If a second dose is not given within 6 weeks of the first, the regime should start again, making sure the two doses are given within 2–6 weeks. After those two doses, revaccination with a single dose can be done at yearly or greater intervals to boost the response".

No mention on the vet surgery's post of titre testing, needless to say, and presumably they are unaware of the guidance that the titre test is "best practice" rather than the unconsidered regular "booster" and that:

"Vaccines should not be given needlessly, as they may cause adverse reactions. Vaccines are medical products that should be tailored to the needs of the individual animal[/b]."

[snb1]

We always titre test now and have not had to vaccinate for years. We now have a 7 month old puppy. We did give the initial vaccinations.....should we give her the first annual booster or is it ok to titre test? Our get is good and will do what we want, but does tend to sway towards vaccinating rather than not. Just would love to hear everyone's thoughts.......

[zeta1454]

We always titre test now and have not had to vaccinate for years. We now have a 7 month old puppy. We did give the initial vaccinations.....should we give her the first annual booster or is it ok to titre test? Our get is good and will do what we want, but does tend to sway towards vaccinating rather than not. Just would love to hear everyone's thoughts.......

Only a single dose of the DHP vaccine is needed to immunise but it does depend on whether the puppy still had maternally derived antibodies when vaccinated. If these were strong enough they will neutralise the vaccine (just as they would have protected against the disease). Vaccine manufacturers state that the vaccine is effective at a single dose to immunise a puppy if given at 10 weeks of age or over but the WSAVA guidelines suggest a later date of 16 weeks of age to be certain as a very small minority of puppies may still have antibodies from their mother. With our last puppy we had a single dose given at 12 weeks of age and the vet carried out a titre test the following month which showed she had gained immunity and was covered for at least three years. We had a sticker on the vaccination card to that effect:



If all vets carried out a titre test in this way to ensure the puppy vaccination/s have been effective, no booster would be required for a DHP at all. If a puppy has failed to respond to the vaccination or series of vaccinations initially they would not be protected by the vaccine until the booster so the earlier the titre test is carried out the better from that viewpoint.

The Leptospirosis jab is different as being a weaker bacterial vaccine with variable effectiveness and higher risk of adverse reaction and, if given, would need repeating at least every year - it may well not even last that long. We do not have this vaccine given to our dogs or puppies. The titre test will not cover Leptospirosis only the 3 core diseases.

So I would definitely titre test your puppy as soon as possible if you have any concerns or wait for the annual check up to titre test before getting a booster

[snb1]

What would we all do without you.....your advice and knowledge is amazing.....i hope you realise how much we all appreciate it!

[zeta1454]

What would we all do without you.....your advice and knowledge is amazing.....i hope you realise how much we all appreciate it!

Thank you