GreatDanes Online

Shadow · Site Admin Joined: 15 Nov 2007 Posts: 26

Dog and cat owners have been told by veterinarians and pet health care providers for years that annual vaccinations for Rabies, Distemper, Parvovirus, Feline Leukemia and on and on...are required yearly. Annual vaccinations, also called annual boosters, have certainly played a major role in disease prevention in dogs and cats. Nevertheless, the question recently on the minds of dog and cat owners has been...
1.) Are multiple agent (multivalent) vaccines "overloading" the pets immune system?
2.) Are "annual vaccinations" really necessary annually?

Pro:

What should a pet owner to do?
Realize that pet health care providers who truly have your pet's best interest at heart, do not all agree on what is the ideal vaccination protocol to follow. Accept the fact that some pet health care providers truly believe that across the broad spectrum of optimum health, vaccinations throw the animal's vital energies out of balance. The truth is that vaccines have undoubtedly prevented countless millions of disease related deaths; unfortunately, a few individuals may have been harmed along the way.

Not only are dog and cat owners beginning to ask about the safety and necessity of annual, multivalent vaccines for their pets but the entire veterinary profession is in a state of critical self-examination. From the highly technical research and development laboratories in the giant pharmaceutical corporations right on down to the solo practitioner operating a mobile clinic, the veterinary health care providers are asking if the current suggested vaccine protocols are safe and effective.

There are veterinarians, from general practitioners to research scientists with advanced degrees in Immunology, who contend that vaccinations are a modern marvel, responsible for saving uncountable animal lives.... just as vaccines have helped rid the world of savage human diseases such as Small Pox and Polio. So how is today's dog and cat caretaker going to make an informed decision about their own pet's vaccine needs?

If a veterinarian independently decided not to follow the label recommendations on the vaccines, and an animal subsequently developed a disease; the veterinarian was vulnerable to being sued. Ethically and legally the veterinarian must follow label recommendations for the administration of biologicals. As time goes on, new recommendations will be made by the veterinary profession. Be sure to consult with your own veterinarian regarding this issue of vaccinations for dogs and cats because suggested protocols can change as newer knowledge is gained.

Discussing the first question of multivalent vaccines and whether or not they are "stressing The Immune System we need to know a little about how an individual (human, dog, cat, mouse, etc.) responds to a pathogen. A pathogen is any agent such as a virus or bacteria or poison that harms the individual. Every minute of every day all individuals are being silently attacked by pathogens from the air, food, water, and contents of our own intestinal tracts. The true miracle is that any of us survive at all!

Through eons of evolutionary trial and error, those species who best defended against pathogens were able to produce similar offspring who were also immune competent, that is, able to fend off those harmful invaders. So we can safely state that, in general, those individuals alive today have healthy Immune Systems, otherwise all those nasty pathogens would have their way with us in short order! But some experts believe the overall state of health in many of the earth's creatures is declining, and that vaccinations are actually contributing to the demise of our immune systems.

"Are multiple agent vaccines overloading The Immune System?" With your knowledge that every individual is continuously being challenged by invaders, it seems unlikely that "ganging up" on The Immune System is even possible. In fact there is overwhelming scientific evidence that a healthy body can respond with immune defenses to multiple challenges and can make protective levels of antibodies to a number of pathogens at the same time! Remember ... we're talking about normal and healthy cats that may have had an adverse reaction to a vaccination were outwardly healthy, but in truth were suffering from a pre-existing, undetected disorder? With twenty-seven years of experience in immunology, Robert Snyder, a Public Health Advisor at the Centers For Disease Control, has stated that there is "evidence that the more you stimulate The Immune System the better it works." This statement may very well be true, "unless" there is an overwhelming number and virulence of pathogens

Like anything else in life, there is a middle ground that must be struck, an educated and informed judgment that needs to be made when considering the risks versus the benefits of vaccinating the pets in our care. Let us all keep an open mind and a sensitive heart to this issue of vaccinations. If you do have concerns that need addressing, tell your veterinarian that you would like to consider all the options prior to vaccinating your special pet.

Someday, hopefully soon, when we discuss vaccinating our pets, no one will have to ask if we are giving Too Many, Too Often.

****

Con:

In recent years, the vaccine manufacturers have been under some pressure to show data that truly demonstrates a need for annual vaccinations for dogs and cats. Vaccinations for all sorts of diseases were recommended to be given annually... year after year. That protocol was followed by veterinarians because they were told to do so by the vaccine manufacturers in order to ensure optimal immunity for as many pets as possible.

Part of the drive for reconsideration of vaccine protocols has been coming from Holistic veterinary practitioners, many of whom believe that repeated vaccinations diminish the animal's immune resources and can actually create disorders such as degenerative joint diseases, immune mediated disorders such as Lupus, and can actually depress the animal's ability to ward off diseases "naturally". A few Holistic veterinarians believe that all vaccines are harmful.

A small animal practitioner with twenty-eight years of experience who has a hard time reconciling these widely different viewpoints, wonders how the pet owner to make sense of the present state of affairs? To underscore the lack of uniformity of opinion regarding multivalent vaccines, he sent questionnaires to over twenty veterinarians, seeking evidence that "too many" vaccines were causing harm to our pets. Not a single person questioned would offer any irrefutable evidence that the multivalent vaccines actually harmed pets. There are stories, there are opinions, there are theories, there is conjecture, even suggestions that veterinarians are knowingly using all those vaccines to further their financial gains! He thinks you should know that giving a pet a single dose of a single vaccine, then giving subsequent single dose vaccines for different diseases spread out over a period of time could be more expensive for the pet owner and more revenue for the veterinarian than giving a multivalent vaccine.

Dr. W. Jean Dodds, a noted researcher and immunologist in Santa Monica, CA suggests that when giving a Rabies vaccine... not to administer it at the same time as other vaccines. Three to four weeks later, other vaccines can be given but Dr. Dodds believes that after ten years of age booster vaccines are generally not needed and may even be unwise.

She states "For animals previously experiencing adverse vaccine reactions or breeds at higher risk for such reactions (e.g. Weimaraners, Akitas, Harlequin Great Danes), alternatives to booster vaccinations should be considered. These include avoiding boosters except those required by law such as Rabies; measuring serum titers annually for specific diseases; and considering homeopathic alternatives to vaccinating. Some homeopathic approaches are considered as 'unconventional' and the pet owner should be provided with an appropriate disclaimer and should give informed consent to this approach."(end)

"Are multiple agent vaccines overloading The Immune System?" There are knowledgeable individuals who would strongly disagree. Veterinarian Christina Chambreau, an holistic practitioner from Sparks, Maryland states that there are "all kinds of problems with vaccinations and they are probably the worst thing that we do for our animals". Her belief is that by injecting vaccine into an animal we are effectively by-passing the body's normal lines of defenses and presenting to the animal foreign material in an unnatural manner. Repetitive vaccinations, she contends, rather than providing extra assurance that an animal will mount high levels of antibodies, actually has an adverse effect on the animal's overall ability to achieve a healthy balance within its disease fighting talents.

With the belief of some holistic practitioners that harmful effects of vaccinating may not be recognizable for several generations and that an individual may not show any signs of vaccine derived diseases in its lifetime. But future generations (offspring of the vaccinated animal) would not have optimum immune fitness because of the previously given vaccines.

The question of whether or not "annual vaccinations" really should be given yearly is a good one. How often is Too Often? The answer is somewhat elusive, too, because the only way we would know if an individual should be vaccinated right now would be to know that the individual is at high risk of getting the disease. In other words, if there was a nice test that would say "Yes, vaccinate immediately! This blood sample indicates that the immune system's mucosal, cellular and humoral immunity is low and needs reeducating!," then the choice to vaccinate would be simpler. (That is if you believed in vaccinating to begin with!) Some types of in-office blood tests are available at this time. However it may be a while before a wide range of simple and inexpensive tests for immunity-status-indicators for a multitude of pet diseases are available. A complicating factor in duration of immunity after a vaccine is given is the unique character of each individual's Immune System.

In an attempt to gather research and to help clear the waters of variable directives on the vaccination topic, my consensus is that nobody really knows how many or how often! So if the trained professionals disagree whether or not "Pooch" should get a seven-in-one vaccination, plus a Rabies inoculation, and this schedule should be repeated yearly, how are you as "Pooch's" owner to know what to do?

Regarding the present state of affairs in the swirling waters of the pet vaccination world. There are a number of questions that could and should be asked before you allow your dog or cat to be vaccinated. Unfortunately, the answers to your questions will probably be determined not by firmly set scientific standards or universally accepted protocols but rather by the judgment and biases of the person you ask!

In arriving at a decision about vaccinating your dog or cat, get the FACTS about vaccinations, listen to your veterinarian, then get a few other opinions from other veterinarians and trust your instincts.

By Kim Campbell Thornton