2015 – 2017
A Summary
Dr. Jean Dodds recently gave two invited lectures on vaccine issues and guidelines for veterinarians in Israel. The following is a summary of the discussion.
World Small Animal Veterinary Association (WSAVA) vaccine guidelines began in 2006. They provide evidence-based global advice for vaccination best practices in dogs and cats.
These guidelines and others, such as those of the American Animal Hospital Association (AAHA), American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA), American Association of Feline Practitioners (AAFP), and British Association of Homeopathic Veterinary Surgeons (BAHVS) in the United Kingdom are gradually changing routine vaccination practice worldwide.
[The guidelines also] help ensure that pet owners and breeders have scientifically – based advice, and robust, safer vaccines and vaccination protocols for dogs and cats.
Excellent advice overall!
Current knowledge supports the statement that:
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“No vaccine is always safe, no vaccine is always protective and no vaccine is always indicated.”
Misunderstanding, misinformation and the conservative nature of our profession have largely slowed adoption of protocols advocating decreased frequency of vaccination.
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“Immunological memory provides durations of immunity for core infectious diseases that far exceed the traditional recommendations for annual vaccination. This is supported by a growing body of veterinary information as well as well-developed epidemiological vigilance in human medicine that indicates immunity induced by vaccination is extremely long lasting and, in most cases, lifelong.”
These statements still apply today [AAHA 2017; WSAVA 2010/2016/2017]
Prof. Michael J. Day
“Vaccination is an act of veterinary science that should be considered as
individualized medicine, tailored for the needs of the individual pet, and delivered
as one part of a preventive medicine program in an annual health check visit.”
Factors increasing risk of adverse events 3 days after vaccination:
These risks should be communicated to clients [Moore et al, JAVMA 227:1102–1108, 2005]
Factors increasing risk of adverse events 30 days after vaccination:
These risks should be communicated to clients, and the number of vaccines administered concurrently limited [Moore et al, JAVMA 231:94-100, 2007]