Are Our Pets Being Over-Vaccinated? by Melissa Burden
June 16, 2006
Jean Dodds, DVM, a world renowned vaccine research scientist, in Santa Monica, CA, told The Press many boosters are unnecessary.
"Why should we be giving pets foreign substances when they do not need them," said Dodds, who has researched the vaccination guidelines for over 30 years. Veterinarians, she said, have been giving annual vaccinations simply because it's assumed they are needed and were recommended by the United States Department of Agriculture.
"There never was any data that suggested vaccines must be given yearly," Dodds said. "Veterinarians assumed there was data but there wasn't." Vaccines like parvovirus and canine distemper are responsible for many diseases of the immune system in dogs, she contends. Anemia, arthritis, epilepsy, thyroid disease, liver failure, diabetes, allergies and other conditions, she believes, are linked to vaccines.
"Approximately five to 10 percent will develop problems," Dodds said. "That increases to 20 percent in pure breeds." Irish Setters, Great Danes, German Shepherds, weimaraners and akitas are at higher risk of developing Hypertrophic Osteodystrophy, a bone disease that causes a 107 degree fever, pain, and the inability to walk as a result of vaccinations, she said.
"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.
No effect
However, if another vaccine is given a year later, antibodies from the first vaccine neutralize the second vaccine, producing little or no effect.Not only are annual boosters for parvovirus and distemper unnecessary, they subject a pet to potential risks of allergic reactions and immune-mediated hemolytic anemia, a life threatening disease that generally has unknown causes, said Dodds. There is no scientific documentation to back up label claims for annual administration of these vaccines, she said.
Dr. Bob Rogers, DVM, Critter Fixer Pet Hospital, in Texas, agrees.
"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.
Vaccines against Corona virus, Leptospirosis, and Lyme disease for dogs should be avoided, he said.
"The duration of immunity for vaccines for diseases like rabies, distemper, and parvovirus have been shown to be 7 years," Rogers said. "More importantly it has been scientifically proven that, after the initial series, when vaccines are re-administered, the immune status of the patient is not enhanced. Antibodies from the initial vaccine block the subsequent vaccines from having any effect. In cats, the risk of Vaccine Associated Fibrosarcomas can be reduced by avoiding adjuvanted vaccines and unnecessary vaccines like chlamydia for cats."
Dodds and Rogers suggest pet owners ask their veterinarians to perform vaccine antibody titer tests, which test antibodies for distemper and parvovirus annually after the initial series of vaccines.
