DOES YOUR PET NEED VACCINATION; OR
DOES YOUR VET NEED AN INJECTION OF ETHICS?

The Texas Department of Public Health changed the requirement for rabies vaccinations for pets. Under the new law pets need to be vaccinated by 4 months of age, again one year later, and then every three years.

Cats have been getting cancer from their vaccines. Alternatively, cats can be vaccinated annually with a safer one-year non-adjuvanted vaccine. A three- year license for this product is pending.

This new law is retroactive. If your pet was vaccinated last year with a three-year product. it is not due for another rabies vaccine until 2005. The change in this law was based on sound science. Repeat administration of rabies vaccine does not make the pet more immune to rabies. The client is paying for something with no effect except it exposes the patient to the risk of adverse effects. The American Animal Hospital Association and the National Association of State Public Health Veterinarians recommend a three- year ordinance.

Veterinarians have given inaccurate information to local Health Departments in order to maintain a one-year ordinance. If you would like help in getting your local health department to change, see our web site or e- mail drbob@critterfixer.com. Some Vets are telling their clients that last years shot was only good for one year, or if they are late, the vaccine is only good for one year. If your pet has had two vaccinations and the last vaccination was with a three-year product. the vaccine is good for three years, no matter how late your pet is on the vaccine. If the Vet did not use a three-year product last year for dogs, the Vet was in violation of Texas law.

The American Animal Hospital Association, (AAHA) and Texas A&M School of Veterinary Medicine revised their recommendations for all pet vaccinations. Annual vaccinations for diseases like Rabies, Distemper and Parvovirus are no longer recommended. The duration of immunity for these vaccines has been scientifically proven to be over 7 years, and probably the life of the pet. More importantly, it has been proven that re-administration of these vaccines does not make the patient more immune. The immunity induced by the first vaccine blocks the next vaccine. ., The client is paying for something with no effect; except that the pet is being exposed the unnecessary risk of an adverse reaction. JA VMA , Aug '95.

AAHA and T AMU do not recommend Corona virus vaccine. Corona virus causes diarrhea, but only in dogs less than 8 weeks of age. Texas A&M has only seen one case in over 10 years. Scientists have never been able to demonstrate that corona virus causes disease in adult dogs, which are immune to corona virus whether they are vaccinated or not. Leptospirosis and Lyme disease vaccines were listed as "non- core vaccines", not recommended where dogs are not at risk:. of contracting these diseases like Texas. Lyme disease is a tick- transmitted disease, found in the New England States, Michigan and Minnesota. In Texas we do not have the reservoir deer mouse and Ixodid Tick relationship necessary for Lyme disease transmission. Texas A&M University has never seen a case of Lyme disease in a dog from Texas.

An Injection Site Fibrosarcoma or Vaccine Associated Sarcoma (VAS) is a fatal type of ca.'1Cer caused by vaccines. Adjuvanted vaccines which have been shown to be 5 times more likely to create V AS than non- adjuvanted vaccines, were declared a carcinogen for cats by die World Health Association in 1999. Over 22,000 cats in the U.S. die from V AS every year, many from vaccinations they did not even need. To prevent VAS the A VMA- V AS Task Force recommends reduced vaccine schedules, safer non- adjuvanted vaccines and intranasal vaccines. Less than 100/0 Veterinarians adhere to these guidelines.

There are 5 types of Feline FlY viruses. The new FlY vaccine contains Clades A & D. Clade B causes FIV in the US. Cross protection is poor. The American Association of Feline Practitioners wrote the USDA and asked them not to license the vaccine.

Why would the USDA license vaccine that does not contain the same virus that causes the disease? The American Veterinary Medical Association wrote to the USDA Center for Veterinary Medicine in 1998 and requested that they revise their standards for licensing vaccines. The USDA continues to license vaccines whose efficacy is unsubstantiated by independent studies. like FIP, Ringworm vaccine and Giardia vaccine.

The Texas State Board of Veterinary Medical Examiners has advised all Veterinarians they should inform their clients about the risk of vaccines and update their vaccine recommendations. Less than 100/0 of Vets have adhered to this.