Vaccination Guidelines for Dogs and
Cats
Recently there has been
much discussion about vaccination schedules for cats and dogs. Vaccinations are
important as they protect the animals from infectious diseases. Owners and
breeders should discuss vaccination strategies for their animals with their veterinarians, they can recommend the most effective regimen
for their animal patients.
The purpose of
vaccinations is to stimulate humoral and/or cellular
immune responses and to generate an appropriate immune memory so that
subsequent exposure of the animal to the infectious agent will not result in a
disease state. In young animals, the presence of maternally derived, passive
immunity may interfere with this process, as may other factors such as poor
nutritional status, concurrent disease, and anesthesia.
Because maternally derived antibodies may block an immune response to vaccines
in very young puppies and kittens, a series of vaccines are given at
appropriate intervals which should then result in active immunity against the
vaccine antigens and the corresponding naturally found antigens.
Following are
recommendations and vaccination schedules for cats and dogs developed by
clinicians at VHUP.
At what age should one
begin vaccinating puppies and kittens? As there is no transfer of maternal
antibodies through the placenta to the fetus, puppies
and kittens are born with almost no antibodies; only a few (IgM)
that they have generated themselves, which are not sufficient for protection
against most infectious agents. Thus, protection is provided by ingestion of colostral antibodies during the first day of life. As
maternally derived antibody titers decline in the
kittens and puppies, the neonatal immune system develops further. In theory, colostrum-deprived animals could receive their first
vaccinations at 2-3 weeks of age and colostrum
recipients at 6-9 weeks of age.
The interval between
the first series of booster vaccinations should be between 3 and 4 weeks
because vaccines can interfere with each other; upon infection with the vaccine
virus, cells increase interferon production. Therefore, if the second vaccine
is given within a week to ten days, it will fail. Delays longer than 8 weeks
should be avoided. The exception is the rabies vaccine (adjuvanted
killed virus), in which long-term immunity studies indicate efficacy of
boosters after 1 year followed by triennially given boosters.
Only healthy animals should
be vaccinated. For example, if an animal has an elevated body temperature that
remains over 103°F on repeated measurements, its cellular immune system shuts
down. Thus, the vaccine may not be efficacious, or worse, may cause disease.
Animals with immunodeficiencies or receiving
chemotherapy will also not respond appropriately to vaccination.
Vaccination sites: It should always be recorded
where the vaccines were given, in case reactions are seen later. In cats and
dogs, rabies should always be given in the right upper hind limb. In cats, FeLV vaccines are given in the left upper hind limb. The
other vaccines may be given on the right or left side of the abdomen. We do not
recommend giving vaccines between the shoulder blades because of the poor
drainage of this site.
Pregnancy: It is best to vaccinate before
pregnancy. If this is not possible or the opportunity was missed, it has been
recommended that killed vaccines should be and could be safely used two weeks
before the expected due date. Two weeks allow sufficient time for the
production of antibodies, which can then be passed on to the offspring via colostral intake. However, because of the nature of killed
vaccines, adverse, allergic type reactions are more likely.
Vaccine reactions: The owner should carefully
observe any animal that has been vaccinated for the first half-hour after
vaccination for signs of acute allergic reactions. In case of allergic
reactions, contact the veterinarian or an emergency service immediately. If an
animal has had a reaction before, the veterinarian should be informed. In cases
where the veterinarian and the owner have opted not to vaccinate the animal, titers to the corresponding diseases may be measured, but
it must be kept in mind that serum titers do not
reflect the actual state of local immunity.
Canine Vaccination
Protocol at VHUP
*:Puppies: If a dog needs to be vaccinated
before 6 weeks of age and has no known history of ingestion of colostrum or known lack of colostrum
or in case of high infectious disease risk (*), it may be given measles virus
vaccine to overcome maternal protection against distemper and killed canine
Parvovirus vaccine (killed CPV). Do not use live CPV at less than 5 weeks of
age because of the potential damage to still dividing and developing myocytes.
Coronavirus Vaccines: Coronavirus only causes serious, fatal
disease in puppies less than 5 weeks of age. However, puppies are generally
protected through colostral antibodies until 8-12
weeks of age. Thus, it is probably of little value vaccinating puppies against coronaviral infections.
Leptospira vaccines: This vaccine presents a dilemma
for several reasons: In more recent times, several dogs seemed to have had
allergic type reactions to the Leptospira component
in the multivalent vaccines. It has also been suggested that the duration of
immunity after vaccination only lasts for about 8 months. Recently, a new Leptospira vaccine has become available that contains four
different serovars: grippotyphosa,
canicola, icterohemorrhagica,
and
Lyme Disease
(Borreliosis) vaccines: As the pathogenesis of
infections with Borrelia burgdorferi
is still not clearly defined, this should not be a routine vaccination. Post-vaccinal Lyme-like syndrome has
been described and it is possible that the same dog breeds that have had these
types of reactions may also be the ones that have more serious disease after
infection with the pathogenic strain. The vaccine also interferes with
interpretation of titers possibly for years after
vaccination.
Bordetella bronchiseptica
vaccines: This
is probably not a very effective vaccine, and there are not enough studies to
document either short- or long-term efficacy. However, there are some kennels
that require Bordetella vaccinations before the dog
can be boarded. The intranasal vaccine seems to provide marginally better
protection than the injectable form. The dog should
receive a booster 2-4 weeks after the initial vaccination, if given the killed injectable vaccine. A single dose of the intranasal vaccine
is likely to be sufficient in a puppy older than 14 weeks of age, when the
maternal antibodies have dropped to undetectable levels.
CANINE
|
Neonates* |
Puppy Series |
Last |
First |
Adult |
||
|
Vaccines |
2-6 |
6-8 |
10-12 |
13-16 |
16 weeks |
15 mts. |
Annually |
|
Distemper/Measles |
• |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Killed
Parvovirus |
• |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Distemper |
|
• |
• |
• |
•# |
• |
|
|
Canine
Adenovirus |
|
• |
• |
• |
•# |
• |
|
|
Canine Parainfluenza |
|
• |
• |
• |
•# |
• |
|
|
Canine
Parvovirus |
|
• |
• |
• |
• |
• |
|
|
Leptospirafour |
|
• |
• |
• |
•# |
• |
• |
|
Rabies Virus |
|
|
|
• |
|
• |
|
|
Bordetella (optional) |
|
• |
• |
• |
|
• |
• |
|
Lyme (optional) |
|
• |
• |
• |
|
• |
• |
|
|
#: Optional; usually present
in combination vaccines together with canine Parvovirus. |
||||||
Copyright 2001 Bellwether. All rights reserved. The Newsmagazine of the
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