Vaccines – Are they going to kill my dog?
Are they a waste of my valuable money?
With continued controversy surrounding vaccines and a decline in the number of vaccinated animals in Port Macquarie and throughout Australia, we wanted to bring forward some comments to make you consider and think about what is best for your dog.
First some background.
In Australia we routinely vaccinate against 5 main diseases.
1. Parvo virus - deadly viral diarrhoea
2. Distemper - virus
3. Viral Hepatitis - virus
4. Parainfluenza (similar to whooping cough in kids) - virus
5. Bordatella (similar to whooping cough in kids) - bacteria
Please understand that some of this information is simplified for mass consumption, and for most technical info, please contact Intervet Schering Plough.
Approximately ten years ago researchers in the USA found that the adjuvants, or "additives" in certain vaccines were causing cancers. BAD, very bad but rare, approx 1:10,000 patients. These were “killed” vaccines, and the adjuvants were needed to fool the body into thinking the vaccines were alive. This meant the animal mounted a response against the vaccine and thus the disease for future. This started a serious look at what is necessary and what is not necessary to be giving our pets.
The vaccines most implicated were Rabies (not in Australia) and Feline Leukaemia, as both were (killed) adjuvented.
We do not use adjuvented (killed) vaccines in dogs or cats at Animal Doctors. I have never seen a case of vaccine related cancer, nor have any of the 4 vets at Animal Doctors.
Since then researchers have also found that certain LIVE vaccines will in DOGS last longer than the annual limit, and interestingly in the last 2 or more years in Australia there is a PARVO/DISTEMPER/HEPATITIS vaccine that does, and has been SHOWN to last 3 years.
This proven vaccine is a DIFFERENT vaccine to the one being used in current annual regimes.
There was fierce debate in veterinary publications about the validity of vaccine trial data, but personally I do strongly believe that the Intervet DHP is a great effective protection.
The important thing to get across is this, the vaccines being used in Australia are incredibly safe. The 3 years DHP from Intervet and the yearly vaccines, are all incredibly safe. In 11 years of practice and many thousands I have vaccinated, I have never seen a cancer case related to vaccines and never seen a direct disease associated with a vaccine apart from the very infrequent injection site abscess/inflammation.
In comparison to this risk, the risk of Parvo is much greater. Vaccine side effects and deaths are STRICTLY monitored by the AVPMA (government body) by law. Continued...... over
People are basing their decisions not to vaccinate on 2 things
1. Perceived danger of over vaccination (see above paragraph about safety)
2. Belief that one vaccine when the dog was a puppy will be enough (immunity is complex, boosting is essential part of any protection).
Both are going to lead to 2 things
1. Decrease in "herd" or population immunity, leading to more outbreaks and higher risk to the individual
2. Increased individual risk to preventable diseases that have been quiet for years e.g. distemper
You only need to see one puppy or one dog die from Parvo to never want to see that again. It is a gut wrenching process.
Less vaccination is VALID, as long as it is with the RIGHT vaccine that is shown to last 3 years.(Canvac has not been shown to last 3 years, this is why BRAND is critical).
You have to weigh up the risk of vaccinations, the cost of such vaccines versus the real and deadly risk of the viruses themselves. From my point of view it is a clear choice, but as long as you ask - are the vaccines safe or not? At our practice, it is one of the safest prescription medications we give.
In closing there are a few questions for you to ask yourself.
1. Do I believe that vaccines are safe for my dog?
2. Do I believe that vaccines are effective at preventing the diseases they claim to?
3. Have I considered what the risk of exposure my dog has to these diseases (Parvo virus can live in the environment for 2 years after being defecated from an infected dog)
If you are coming to Animal Doctors, be aware we want to inform you about your choices, BUT we only use Intervet vaccines, as the TRIALS have been done to show how safe and EFFECTIVE they are. This is where if you are giving a "3 year" dog vaccine, BRAND IS CRITICAL, absolutely CRITICAL.
Vaccines are like an insurance policy, you will never know when your dog might need it.
The cost of a C3 parvo vaccine starts from $23.50 plus health check, we are here to help.
Regards
Dr Stephen Rose
Principal Veterinarian
Animal Doctors Port Macquarie
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