Vaccination

Vaccines against microorganisms that cause disease can prepare the body's immune system to fight off infection if exposed. When given to an animal, vaccines will stimulate the body's immune system to form disease fighting cells and proteins (known as antibodies) to protect against the disease. Although the protection afforded by vaccines can be reduced by excessive or prolonged stress, poor overall health and poor nutrition, most vaccinated animals will be resistant to the disease for which they are vaccinated. Most veterinarians agree that all dogs and cats should be vaccinated against those diseases that are widespread, cause serious illness, and/or are highly contagious (core vaccines). In addition, other vaccines may be recommended based on the risk they pose to individual cats or dogs (non-core vaccines). Most vaccines are given by injection into the subcutaneous fat under the skin. Some vaccines may be administered as drops into the nose.

Although some vaccines are generally recommended for all dogs and cats, Dr. Golbeck can assist you in selecting vaccines for your pet based on the unique set of risks faced by your pet. Some factors to be considered include the number of pets in the household, exposure to other pets or wild animals, age and health status of your pet, and travel and kenneling considerations. By measuring blood titre levels of antibodies to the core vaccines we can determine whether immunity needs boosting or not yet!

Core vaccines for dogs:

Canine Distemper - This disease causes respiratory, gastrointestinal, and neurological signs in affected dogs and can be fatal. Recovered dogs may have permanent damage to their nervous systems. Unvaccinated dogs are at high risk of contracting this highly contagious disease which is spread by discharges from the nose and eyes of infected dogs.
Infectious Hepatitis - This virus is caused by a viral agent, the canine adenovirus, and is spread through infected urine. The virus may cause liver failure, eye damage and respiratory problems which can be fatal. Commonly encountered clinical signs are vomiting, abdominal pain, diarrhea, and occasionally coughing.
Canine Parvovirus - The disease caused by parvovirus is both serious and widespread in dogs. Signs, which include severe vomiting and diarrhea with blood, result from the virus damaging the gastrointestinal tract. The disease is spread through infected feces and can lead to death in 48 to 72 hours. Parvovirus infection may also cause bone marrow and heart disease in dogs.

Non-core vaccines for dogs:

Canine Bordetella - Commonly called 'kennel cough' this infection is the canine version of 'whooping cough' in children. Currently we recommend twice annual vaccination with canine cough (Bordetella) vaccine if your dog frequents high risk areas such as day cares, boarding facilities, grooming parlours and off-leash areas, as the immunity of this vaccine appears to be of relatively short duration. Some patients will be vaccinated on an occasional basis such as when boarding may be needed in a family emergency.

Rabies - All mammals, including humans, are at risk of contracting rabies, which is invariably fatal once neurological signs of disease are evident. Rabid pets may display a "dumb" form which is characterized by listlessness, weakness and paralysis, or the "furious" form of rabies characterized by abnormal aggression. The virus is carried in the saliva and enters the body after a bite wound. Because Rabies virus is carried by bats, the only known animal resistant to it's deadly effects, Rabies can infect anyone, exposed to bats, which are fairly ubiquitous and have been reported to fly into open windows of high rise apartments. For this reason, Rabies is considered a CORE VACCINE here for both dogs & cats and in some parts of Canada, where risk is very high, vaccination of dogs and cats is mandatory. Even with the vaccines programs we promote there are still both human or animal cases of Rabies here in Alberta.

2010 : On April 5th of 2010 a 3.5 year old cat was presented to the Cremona Vet Clinic for exam. This family pet was UNVACCINATED and roamed both outdoors and indoors. It was diagnosed with Rabies at post mortem examination. The CFIA authorities did not quarantine the entire farm, but did order that all pets on the premises are to be vaccinated against Rabies at the owner's expense. The veterinary staff and cat's owners, 3 adults and 4 children all received a series of 5 intramuscular injections with Rabies vaccine over a 28 day period, as well as 2 X 4ml intramuscular injections of Rabies Immunoglobulin. No clues as to as to type of animal that infected this cat, but brown bats, skunks, foxes and coyotes are all found in the area.

2007 : A 73 year old man died in April 2007 after being bitten by a bat in August 2006. He did not seek any post exposure treatments when he found the dead bat in his bed one morning on his farm east of Edmonton. He survived 68 days of clinical illness before being declared brain dead and life support was withdrawn.

2006 : Rabies has been diagnosed in a fourteen week old kitten in the Spruceview area of Alberta (North West of Innisfail). The kitten came from an UNVACCINATED litter and had been ill for about a week. The kitten was hospitalized where its condition deteriorated and was euthanized the next day. The kitten was sent for Rabies analysis and a diagnosis of Rabies was confirmed. The health authorities were informed and all people who came into contact with the kitten have been treated.

Core vaccines for cats:

Feline Panleukopenia - Panleukopenia is a potentially fatal viral disease that causes vomiting, diarrhea, severe dehydration and fever, and sudden death. Kittens born to infected queens may suffer permanent brain damage. This disease is easily prevented through vaccination.
Feline Rhinotracheitis and Calicivirus - These organisms infect the airways of cats, causing runny eyes and nose, sneezing, mouth ulcers and sometimes poor appetite. Although vaccines may not prevent infection altogether, they often greatly reduce the severity of the disease.

Non-core vaccines for cats:

Feline Leukemia Virus - This virus causes a multitude of disorders from cancers such as leukemia, to bone marrow and/or immune suppression, although some infected cats may not show any clinical signs for several years. The virus is found in the bodily fluids of infected carriers and the normal route of transmission is through bite wounds, so outdoor cats are at a much higher risk than indoors cats, who only have problems if they escape outside or cohabitate with others that do.

What Age to Start Vaccinations?: Research has demonstrated that only 25% of puppies vaccinated at 6 weeks of age develop protective immunity, @ 9 weeks old 40% were protected, @ 16 weeks 60% are protected with a single vaccine injection, which is why it is so important to get the full puppy / kitten vaccination series initially. After this the number of vaccines given annually can often be minimized by having your pet's blood titres tested, measuring immunity levels of the core vaccines to determine if indeed they are one of the 50% to 60% of dogs and cats that have longer lasting immunity and not need boosters yet!

Send mail to waci@telusplanet.net with questions or comments about this web site. Copyright © 2009 Westmount Animal Clinic

Send mail to waci@telusplanet.net with questions or comments about this web site.
Copyright © 2009 Westmount Animal Clinic