TITERS--Shedding Some Light On

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Duration of Immunity to Canine Vaccines: What We Know and Don't Know, Dr. Ronald Schultz Duration of Immunity

World Small Animal Veterinary Association 2007 Vaccine Guidelines http://www.wsava.org/SAC.htmScroll down to Vaccine Guidelines 2007 (PDF)

The 2003 American Animal Hospital Association's Canine Vaccine Guidelines are accessible online at Special Report .

The 2006 American Animal Hospital Association's Canine Vaccine Guidelines are downloadable in PDF format at About AAHA .

Veterinarian, Dr. Robert Rogers,has an excellent presentation on veterinary vaccines at Home

To shed some light on titer testing, the following is from Page 19 the American Animal Hospital Association's 2003 Canine Vaccine Guidelines under the heading "Serological Tests to Monitor Immunity: it states that "Although the committee does not feel it is necessary to determine titers to these core viruses on an annual basis because of the long minimum DOI [duration of immunity] for these products, titers can be used for your and/or your client's assurance that the animal has immunity. Experience with postvaccination titers for CDV [distemper], CAV [hepatitis], and CPV [parvo] shows that sterile immunity lasts for years...........The primary reason for the test is to ensure that you have a positive test after completing the puppy vaccination series."

From Page 16 of the 2003 AAHA Guidelines it reports that, "The MLV [modified live virus (such as distemper, hepatitis, parvo)] vaccines create an immunity that is similar to immunity after an animal recovers from infection." Further, on Page 17, " When MLV [modified live virus (such as distemper, hepatitis, parvo)] vaccines are used to immunize a dog, memory cells develop and likely persist for the life of the animal."

Dr. Alice Wolf, Professor of Small Animal Internal Medicine at Texas A&M College of Veterinary Medicine, stated in an address (Vaccines of the Present and Future WSAVA 2001 - Vaccines of the Present and Future) at the 2001 World Small Animal Veterinary Association World Congress that: "MLV vaccines generally produce longer duration, more solid immunity. Both humoral and cell-mediated immune systems participate strongly in the response. A single vaccination may provide significant immunologic memory (as long as there is no maternal AB interference). MLV vaccines do not, or only infrequently, require revaccination ..."..

Combination Vaccines, Multiple Shots--on Page 16 of the 2003 AAHA Guidelines under Immunological Factors Determining Vaccine Safety, it states that: "Although increasing the number of components in a vaccine may be more convenient for the practitioner or owner, the likelihood for adverse effects may increase. Also, interference can occur among the components. Care must be taken not to administer a product containing too many vaccines simultaneously if adverse events are to be avoided and optimal immune responses are sought. "

If anyone would like copies of the American Animal Hospital Association's Canine Vaccine Guidelines, the 1992 French challenge study demonstrating that dogs were immune to a rabies challenge 5 years after vaccination, the 2003 Italian study documenting fibrosarcomas at the presumed injection sites of rabies vaccines in dogs, as well as Dr. W. Jean Dodds' papers on vaccinal adverse reactions, please e-mail me at .

Dr. Ronald Schultz--Comments on TITERS

This is what Dr. Ronald Schultz had to say in his 2007 presentation to the AKC Canine Health Foundation entitled,What Everyone Needs to Know About Canine Vaccines and Vaccination Programs (What Everyone Needs to Know About Canine Vaccines ):

"An antibody titer no matter how low shows the animal has immunologic memory since memory effector B cells must be present to produce that antibody. Some dogs without antibody are protected from disease because they have T cell memory, that will provide cell mediated immunity (CMI). CMI will not protect from reinfection, but it will prevent disease."

"My own dogs, those of my children and grandchildren are vaccinated with MLV CDV, CPV-2, CPI, andCAV-2 vaccines once as puppies after the age of 12 weeks. An antibody titer is performedtwo or more weeks later and if found positive our dogs are never again vaccinated. "

The vaccines in the quote above are CDV (distemper), CPV-2 (parvovirus), CPI (canine parainfluenza), and CAV-2 (hepatitis), and Dr. Ronald Schultz is the Chair of the Department of Pathobiological Sciences at the University of Wisconsin School of Veterinary Medicine. His challenge and serological studies on canine vaccines form a large part of the scientific data base upon which the 2003 and 2006 American Animal Hospital Association's Canine Vaccine Guidelines are based, as well as the 2007 World Small Animal Veterinary Association's Vaccine Guidelines.

Duration of Immunity to Canine Vaccines: What We Know and Don't Know, Dr. Ronald Schultz Duration of Immunity

I just found an online link to Dr. Schultz's speech and incorporated it into my post above also.

What Everyone Needs to Know about Canine Vaccines, Dr. Ronald Schultz What Everyone Needs to Know About Canine Vaccines

Kris

There is an interesting article on veterinary vaccines which you can read in its entirety at the link below.

Are Our Pets Being Overvaccinated, by Melissa Burden, The Press Main News

(Dr. W. Jean Dodds) “But there is really no breed that is not at risk,” she said. The only vaccination needed, she asserts, is the rabies vaccine because it is legally required. Dogs’ and cats’ immune systems mature fully at 6 months old, she explained. If canine distemper, feline distemper and parvovirus vaccines are given after 6 months, a pet has immunity for the rest of its life.

(Dr. Robert Rogers) “Dogs and cats no longer need to be vaccinated against distemper, parvo, and feline leukemia every year,” Rogers said. “Once the initial series of puppy or kitten vaccinations and first annual vaccinations are completed, immunity…persists for life. Not only are annual boosters for parvo and distemper unnecessary, they subject the pet to the potential risk of adverse reactions, he added.