2008 RABIES--Report on Adverse Vaccine Reactions in Dogs & Vaccine info

[Scott Greenwood]

Kris L. Christine or Whomsoever DVM

There is a reason for the dvm. The went to atleast eight years for that reason and that is why I trust it. Not some radical that is trying to push an agenda. I do not think vets care whether or not they give out 1,2, or 3 year shots. They just do what is required. And when it comes to being sick, I have been on a pretty stringent dose of medications for around ten years now and before that plenty of insulin and other drugs, do they give me the sh**s you bet. Will I keep taking them, They keep me alive. Same as rabies vaccines. It happens to humans to and very rarely is there ever a change of course. There is always a risk of death when dealing with drugs, small risk though!

[Mike Trible]

My golden is healing up now from a 6 inch incision to remove a chain of tumors FROM A RABIES VACCINATION SITE that are thankfully not cancerous. Any of you who know me know that this could have been a very devastating time for me right now, and I very much resent being told that I must continue to do this to my dog when I honestly feel that he already has lifetime immunity from the vaccinations he's already had in his life. Making vaccination choices is a very personal decision for all of us. If anyone wants to vaccinate every year, leaving the 3 year requirement will certainly not stop someone from going that route.

Also, I happen to use a vet in Delaware County, Indiana, and I am thankful to be made aware of a proposal that wants to make a 1 year rabies vaccination mandatory, instead of the 3 year currently in place.

Carla Trible

UH HRCH GRCH Millcreek's Pay It Forward TDInc "Teegan" 500 point golden retriever

[Kris L. Christine]

Update: Texas Rabies Law -- Bell County

July 23, 2009 article in the Killeen Daily Herald on efforts to change the annual rabies ordinance in Bell County, Texas: Animal Advisory Committee Works to Revamp Rabies Policy http://www.kdhnews.com/news/story.aspx?s=34716

"Killeen's animal advisory committee can't change the annual rabies vaccination policy – so it's going to the source.

The committee is sending representatives to the Bell County Commissioners Court and the Killeen City Council in an effort to change the county's policy on rabies vaccinations."

[Kris L. Christine]

TEXAS RABIES LAW-- Bell County Update

Rabies shots only needed every 3 years Killeen Daily Herald 7/29/09http://kdhnews.com/news/story.aspx?s=34835

Members of Killeen's Animal Advisory Committee took a stand against Bell County's current pet rabies vaccination policy at Tuesday's City Council's workshop.

After hearing presentations from two veterinarians, the Killeen City Council reached a unanimous consensus to support the committee's appeal to the county for prolonging rabies vaccinations to once every three years instead of annually.

[Kris L. Christine]

Vaccine Data on Facebook/Rabies Challenge Fund


For those of you interested in information on canine vaccines, The Rabies Challenge Fund now has an official page on Facebook and so do I (under Kris L. Christine), where I have posted a number of articles and studies under "discussions" and "notes", including one recently entitled Adverse events diagnosed within three days of Vaccine Administration in Dogs from the Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association, Vol 227, No. 7, October 1, 2005 .

[Kris L. Christine]

Vaccines -- Adverse Events within Three Days JAVMA 10/1/05

The quotes in red below are from the attached scientific report covering adverse events within 3 days of vaccination in dogs over the course of 2 years. Reports of dogs having vaccinal adverse reactions within the same time frame were not included if heartworm medication had been administered along with the vaccines. This study did not include adverse reactions such as development of fibrosarcomas and/or other conditions which take longer than 3 days to develop.

Moore, George E. et als., Adverse events diagnosed within three days of Vaccine Administration in Dogs, Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association, Vol 227, No. 7, October 1, 2005

Animals—1,226,159 dogs vaccinated at 360 veterinary hospitals.

Results—4,678 adverse events (38.2/10,000 dogs vaccinated) were associated with administration of 3,439,576 doses of vaccine to 1,226,159 dogs. The VAAE rate decreased significantly as body weight increased. Risk was 27% to 38% greater for neutered versus sexually intact dogs and 35% to 64% greater for dogs approximately 1 to 3 years old versus 2 to 9 months old. The risk of a VAAE significantly increased as the number of vaccine doses administered per office visit increased; each additional vaccine significantly increased risk of an adverse event by 27% in dogs ≤ 10 kg (22 lb) and 12% in dogs > 10 kg.

Conclusions and Clinical Relevance—Young adult small-breed neutered dogs that received multiple vaccines per office visit were at greatest risk of a VAAE within 72 hours after vaccination.

Records for dogs that received both an injectable heartworm preventive and a vaccine during the same office visit were not included in analyses.

Population—In the 2-year study period, 4,531,837 vaccine doses were administered to 1,537,534 dogs at 360 veterinary hospitals.

Among breeds with 5,000 or more dogs vaccinated, Dachshund, Pug, Boston Terrier, Miniature Pinscher, and Chihuahua breeds had the highest rates of VAAEs with 121.7, 93.0, 83.8, 76.4, and 76.1 adverse events/10,000 dogs vaccinated, respectively (Table 1). The VAAE rate for mixed-breed dogs was in the bottom quintile of all rates.

The VAAE rates decreased significantly as body weight increased (P for trend < 0.001; Figure 1). For all vaccines or for rabies vaccine alone, the VAAE rate for 10.1- to 45.0-kg (22.2- to 99.0-lb) dogs was approximately half the rate for dogs that weighed 0 to 10.0 kg (0 to 22.0 lb; P < 0.001; Figure 2). For rabies vaccine administered alone, VAAE rates/10,000 dogs that weighed 0 to 10.0 kg, 10.1 to 45.0 kg, and > 45 kg were 32.1 (222/69,178), 15.3 (69/45,088), and 0.0 (0/1,966), respectively.

The risk of a VAAE significantly increased as the number of vaccines administered per office visit increased (P for trend < 0.001).

In all dogs, each additional vaccine administered per office visit increased the rate of a VAAE by 24.2%; the rate increase was significantly (P <0.001) greater in dogs that weighed 0 to 10.0 kg, compared with dogs that weighed 0.1 to 45.0 kg (27.3% vs 11.5%, respectively; Figure 4). The 3 dogs with recorded deaths each had received ≥ 4 vaccines at their last office visit.

The lowest rate was observed with parenteral administration of Bordetella vaccine (15.4/10,000; 82 VAAEs/53,238 doses), and the highest rate was observed with Borrelia (Lyme disease) vaccine (43.7/10,000; 132 VAAEs/30,201 doses).

The risk of a VAAE in this study population was inversely related to a dog’s weight.

Factors known to cause vaccine reactions include the primary vaccine agent or antigen, adjuvants, preservatives, stabilizers, and residues from tissue cultures used in vaccine production.

The overall formulation of various vaccine components (eg, antigen, adjuvants, and diluent) is proprietary information that was unavailable for analysis in our study; thus, the variation in VAAE rates among single-antigen vaccines
may not be solely attributable to the primary vaccine antigen.

... because of genetic heterogeneity, the relatively low VAAE rate observed in mixed-breed dogs suggests that laboratory safety trials that use such dogs may underestimate the VAAE rates that would occur in purebred dogs. This is important because purebred dogs comprise at least two thirds of the US dog population.

The risk of allergic reaction has been reported to increase after the third or fourth injection of a vaccine (ie, a booster response).

Neutering appeared to increase risk of a VAAE more than sex. Females mount stronger immune responses after vaccination or infection than males because of a dimorphic enhancing effect of estrogens and a protective effect of androgens.

[Kris L. Christine]

Vaccine Data on Facebook/Rabies Challenge Fund


For those of you interested in information on canine vaccines, The Rabies Challenge Fund now has an official page on Facebook and so do I (under Kris L. Christine), where I have posted a number of articles and studies under "discussions" and "notes", including one recently entitled Adverse events diagnosed within three days of Vaccine Administration in Dogs from the Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association, Vol 227, No. 7, October 1, 2005 .

Here's the link to The Rabies Challenge Fund page on Facebook http://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Ra...6981159?v=wall

[Kris L. Christine]

San Diego Pet Vaccination Seminar with Drs. W. Jean Dodds and Ronald Schultz

A vaccine seminar will be held in San Diego, California on March 28, 2010, and world-renowned veterinary vaccine research scientists, Drs. W. Jean Dodds and Ronald Schultz, will be the featured speakers at this all-day event. More information on the seminar can be found at http://www.petseminar.org/ .

New Website Design & Facebook Page

The Rabies Challenge Fund website has been completely redesigned www.RabiesChallengeFund.org and important vaccine data for pet owners has been added. The RCF has also joined the Facebook community http://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Ra...?v=wall&ref=ts , where vaccine data is posted under "Discussions."

[Kris L. Christine]

ARKANSAS 3 Year Rabies Law Effective 1/1/10

Updated Rabies Control Act Allows Longer Vaccination Intervals http://www.todaysthv.com/news/local/...=95265&catid=2

"The updated Rabies Control Act has new rules passed by the State Board of Health that allow for a longer interval between rabies vaccinations for dogs and cats. The new rules will become effective January 1, 2010.

If a three-year vaccine is chosen, the pet will be required to be revaccinated three years later."

[Kris L. Christine]

RHODE ISLAND 3 Year Rabies Regulations

At the end of April 2009, Rhode Island's Rabies Control Board approved a change to allow for a 3 year protocol, yet no date has been set for it to become effective. Concerned pet owners should contact their legislators http://www.rilin.state.ri.us/ and the Chair of the Board, State Veterinarian Dr. Scott Marshall at 401-222-2781 scott.marshall@DEM.RI.GOVto insist this policy change becomes effective.

RHODE ISLAND - Board OKs Change in Rabies Policy Providence Journal News Digest May 1, 2009 http://www.projo.com/news/content/ne...4.38640bf.html "PROVIDENCE –– The Rhode Island Rabies Control Board has approved a change in policy that could pave the way for regulations that will allow the vaccination of dogs and cats every three years, rather than every two years. "