Canine Vaccines

Why do we vaccinate?

According to the 2011 AAHA⁽¹⁾ Canine Vaccination Guidelines⁽²⁾: "Vaccines provide proven life-saving benefits, are associated with minimal risk, and should be part of routine preventative health care. Life stage and lifestyle, risk of exposure, and underlying medical conditions should all be considered when developing a vaccination protocol."
We at HPVS believe that each animal must be evaluated based on his/her health status, life-style, environment, breed, sex, age, etc. to determine which vaccines to administer and how frequently. Over-vaccination may be just as dangerous as not vaccinating so getting the right balance is important.

Rabies

Rabies is a preventable viral disease of mammals most often transmitted through the bite of a rabid animal. The rabies virus infects the central nervous system and once clinical signs appear is almost always fatal. All known mammals are possible carriers of rabies, however small mammals such as mice and squirrels are rarely ever found to carry the disease. In Florida Raccoons are the most common carrier of rabies with foxes and bats coming in second.

AAHA Guidelines recommend that "a single dose of a "3-yr" rabies vaccine be administered within 1 yr after administration of the initial dose, regardless of the animal's age at the time the initial dose was administered. Subsequently, revaccination with a "3-yr rabies" vaccine should be administered every 3 yr thereafter."

FL Statute 828.30(1) "All dogs, cats, and ferrets 4 months of age or older must be vaccinated by a licensed veterinarian against rabies with a vaccine that is licensed by the United States Department of Agriculture for use in those species. The owner of every dog, cat, and ferret shall have the animal revaccinated 12 months after the initial vaccination. Thereafter, the interval between vaccinations shall conform to the vaccine manufacturer's directions. The cost of vaccination must be borne by the animal's owner. Evidence of circulating rabies virus neutralizing antibodies shall not be used as a substitute for current vaccination in managing rabies exposure or determining the need for booster vaccinations."

DHPP (DA₂PP)

D=Canine distemper is a highly contagious disease of dogs spread through the air. Clinically, it is characterized by a fever, excessive production of mucous in both the respiratory and GI systems, pneumonia, low white blood cell count, and possibly neurologic complications. Dogs that survive the disease often have lasting effects such as chronic respiratory problems, seizures, altered mentation, etc. This disease is also very preventable with proper vaccination.

H=Canine hepatitis (Canine adenovirus) is also a highly contagious disease. It is spread through urine, feces, or saliva. Fortunately this disease has become rare in areas who's dog population is well vaccinated. Adenovirus attacks the liver, kidneys, spleen, and lungs and can cause clotting problems and lead to death (more common in young dogs).

P- Parainfluenza virus is a common disease of the upper respiratory tract spread through the air. It often causes mild clinical signs and can go undiagnosed. It's major health concern is that it predisposes the airways to other infections such as bronchitis or pneumonia.

P-Parvovirus is a deadly virus that most commonly affects young, unvaccinated puppies. It is spread through the feces and can stay in the environment for 6 months or more. Clinical signs consist of bloody vomit and diarrhea. Death occurs in a large percentage of cases despite hospitalization. The patients that survive usually do so after a 7 to 10 day period of hospitalization with a bill in the thousands of dollars.

Current AAHA guidelines recommend vaccination for these viruses starting at 8 weeks of age. Boosters are are given every 3-4weeks until 14 to 16 weeks of age. Then a booster in one year is given. After that based on numerous studies done over the past 30 years re-vaccination is recommended every 3 to 5 years based on risk assessment.

Leptospirosis

Unlike most things we vaccinate for, which are viruses, leptospirosis is a bacteria. There are actually numerous serovars(distinct variations within a species of bacteria or viruses) of Leptospirosis, but we only vaccinate against two or four. Leptospirosis is a zoonitic disease, meaning people can catch it. Dogs can contract the disease and become carriers and continually shed the bacteria in their urine becoming a risk to people. Dogs contract the disease by coming in contact with urine of an infected animal (raccoons, opossums, etc.) or standing water that has been contaminated with the bacteria. Acute kidney failure occurs in 80-90% of dogs that become clinically ill from lepto and about 20% of these progress into liver failure as well. The dogs that survive tend to have permanent kidney and/or liver damage requiring lifelong treatment.

In the past the vaccines that were available had a high rate of vaccine reactions due to the large size of the lepto bacteria. More modern vaccines are made up of only parts of the bacteria and are no more likely to cause a reaction than any other vaccine. Since there are several types of vaccines available it is important to be aware of which one your pet is getting. Insist on a 4-way lepto vaccine (includes the canicola, icterohaemorrhagiae, grippotyphosa, and pomona serovars).

In young puppies and small breed dogs (slightly increased risk of a vaccine reaction), I recommend that the leptospirosis vaccine be given separately from the DHPP. This decreases the likelihood of a reaction. The lepto vaccine is considered a non-core vaccine by AAHA and should only be given to dogs that are at risk of contracting the disease. It has to be re-administered every 6 to 12 months due to the short lived immunity created against bacteria.

Bordetella

Bordetella bronchiseptica is often incorrectly considered the only cause of kennel cough. It is a bacteria that can cause tracheobronchitis (inflammation of the trachea) leading to a loud "goose-honk" like cough that can last for weeks. Canine distemper and parainfluenza are also two possible causes for "kennel cough" that we vaccinate for, but there are many, many more possible causes. Kennel cough is often an annoying, but self limiting disease unless it becomes complicated with secondary viral or bacterial infections and progresses into pneumonia. This most often occurs in very young puppies or old/sick dogs.

Bordetella is considered a non-core vaccine and should only be given to dogs that will be in contact with other dogs. This includes dogs that are boarded, go to doggy-daycare, play at a dog park, go to a groomers, dog shows, etc. This vaccine also needs to be boostered every 6-12 months for at risk dogs.

Canine Influenza

Canine influenza is caused by a non-human influenza virus (H3N8) that mutated from an equine virus. It was first seen in 2005 in greyhounds. Because it is a new disease almost all dogs that come in contact with the virus will display some clinical signs from a mild cold to pneumonia. The mortality rate is very low and most dogs recover with no issue. At this time the CDC sees no risk to the human population from this influenza virus.

AAHA recommends vaccinating only dogs that are considered at high risk since the vaccine does not actually prevent the disease. The vaccine is meant to decrease the severity of clinical signs.

Lyme Disease

Lyme disease is a zoonotic disease caused by the bacteria Borrelia burgdorferi(boar-ELL-ee-uh burg-dorf-ERR-eye). It is transmitted by the blacklegged tick (or deer tick, Ixodes scapularis) in the northeastern and central United States, and the western blacklegged tick (Ixodes pacificus) on the west coast. The incident of Lyme disease is very rare in Florida. Dogs that live full time in Florida do not need to be vaccinated for Lyme disease unless they are commonly in heavily wooded areas known to contain the deer tick. Dogs that travel to the new England states should consider being vaccinated.

Coronavirus

Canine coronavirus is a much debated virus in veterinary medicine. It tends to cause very mild gastrointestinal signs such as vomiting and/or diarrhea when any clinical signs are seen at all. The disease was thought to only be a problem when it occurred in conjunction with canine parvovirus. Coronavirus tends to be a rapidly mutating virus which means new strains are occurring all the time. In the few fatal cases where coronavirus is the only pathogen isolated the puppies are all under 10 weeks of age, most are under 8 weeks of age.

AAHA guidelines do not recommend administration of the coronavirus vaccine because "neither the MLV (modified live virus) vaccine nor the killed vaccines have been shown to significantly reduce disease." Also because fatality seems to only be a concern in puppies under eight weeks of age, by the time they are old enough to be effectively vaccinated they are old enough to survive the disease.

Possible Side Effects of Vaccines

Vaccine reactions occur at a rate of about 13 reactions for every 10,000 doses of vaccine given⁽³⁾. Side effects commonly observed include: reduced or loss of appetite (lasting for one or two feedings), pain at the injection site, lethargy (lack of activity), reluctance to walk and/or run, and mild fever. Treatment is usually not indicated. Hives, swelling of the face, vomiting, and diarrhea are signs of a slightly more severe reaction that usually requires treatment with an antihistamine +/- a steroid for a few days. An anaphylactic reaction is a medical emergency. Signs include sudden collapse, difficulty breathing, paleness of gums, sever swelling around head and neck. If you see any of these signs contact your vet immediately. There are a few very rare conditions associated with vaccinations that can occur a few weeks after administration.

Young (1 to 3 years old) neutered males under 10 pounds body weight have the highest rates of vaccine reactions.⁽³⁾ As body size increases the rate of adverse reactions decreases. An increased chance of reaction also occurs with administering multiple vaccines at once. If you have a small breed dog talk to your vet about potentially pre-treating your dog with medication or splitting up the vaccines. They have to be given at least two weeks apart so they don't interfere with each other.

 

1.  AAHA= American Animal Hospital Association
2. Members of the American Animal Hospital Association (AAHA) Canine Vaccination Task Force: Link V. Welborn, DVM, DABVP (Chairperson), John G. DeVries, DVM, DABVP, Richard Ford, DVM, MS, DACVIM, (Hon)ACVPM, Robert T. Franklin, DVM, DACVIM, Kate F. Hurley, DVM, MPVM, Kent D. McClure, DVM, JD, Michael A. Paul, DVM, Ronald D. Schultz, PhD, DACVM
3. Moore et al, "Adverse events diagnosed within three days of vaccine administration in dogs." JAVMA 227:1102–110 October 1, 2005, Vol. 227, No. 7, Pages 1102-1108