# 2011 AAHA Vaccine Guidelines



## Kris L. Christine (Mar 25, 2009)

*2011 American Animal Hospital Association's Canine Vaccine Guidelines * https://www.aahanet.org/PublicDocuments/CanineVaccineGuidelines.pdf

p. 3 "When compared with infectious (attenuated, avirulent, modified live, recombinant viral vectored) vaccines, noninfectious vaccines are more likely to produce local and systemic adverse reactions in some dogs."

p.10 "Most noninfectious vaccines require at least two initial doses to immunize, regardless of the dog's age. The first does of a noninfectious vaccine generally primes the immune response and the second dose, which should be administered 2-6 weeks later, provides the protective immune response. Immunity typically develops approximately 7 days after the second dose. Therefore, the minimum time for onset of immunity is approximately 3 wk after administration of the first dose of a noninfectious vaccine"

p. 12 "Because dogs older than 14-16 wk of age are not likely to have interfering levels of MDA [maternally derived antibodies], administration of a single initial dose of an infectious vaccine to an adult dog can be expected to induce a protective immune response. ..... MDA is the most common reason early vaccination fails to immunize."

p. 12 "The onset of immunity after administration of a single dose of infectious core vaccine is approximately 4+3 days in the absence of MDA [maternally derived antibodies]."

p.13 "Infectious core vaccines are not only highly effective, they also provide the longest DOI [duration of immunity], extending from 5 yr up to the life of the dog."

p. 17 "Despite the confusion and controversy surrounding antibody testing, these serologic tests are useful for monitoring immunity to CDV, CPV-2, CAV-1, and RV. .....On completion of the puppy core vaccination series with the last dose given at 14-16 wk of age, a dog can be expected to have an antibody titer or positive test result, regardless of the serologic test performed, provided the serum sample is collected > 2 wk after the last dose of vaccine." (CDV=distemper, CPV-2 = parvovirus, CAV-1 hepatitis, RV= rabies)

p. 18 "....the last dose of CDV and CPV should be administered at 14-16 wk of age. At this age, MDA should be at a level that will not block active immunity in most puppies (>98%) when a combination MLV vaccine is administered."

p. 18 "In a study reported in 1997, dogs vaccinated with a product containing CDV (canine distemper virus) and then placed in an environment without CDV maintained antibody titers for at least 10 yr."

p. 20 "...the list that follows includes categories of adverse reactions that have been attributed to vaccine administration.

-Injection-site reactions: lumps (abscess, granuloma, seroma), pain, swelling, hair loss associated with ischemic vasculitis

-Transient postvaccinal nonspecific illness: lethargy, anorexia, fever, regional lymphadenomegaly, soreness, abortion, encephalitis, polyneuritis, arthritis, seizures, behavioral changes, hair loss or color change at the injection site, respiratory disease

-Allergic (hypersensitivity) and immune-mediated reactions:

Type 1 (acute anaphylaxis): angiodema (especially the head), anaphylaxis (shock) and death

Type 2 (cytolytic): immune-mediated hemolytic anemia, immune-mediated thrombocytopenia (suspected only; causality has not been confirmed)

Type 3 (immune-complex): cutaneous ischemic vasculopathy associated with rabies vaccine, corneal edema ('blue-eye') associated with CAV-1 vaccine, immune-mediated disease.

-Tumorigenesis: vaccine-associated sarcoma or other tumors

Multisystemic infectious/inflammatory disorder of young Weimaraner dogs: may be genetically linked to both a poorly characterized immunodeficiency and to autoimmune disorders (e.g., hypothyroidism and hypertrophic osteodystrophy [HOD] that are detected shortly after vaccination

-Vaccine-induced immunosuppression: associated with first or second dose of combination MLV vaccines containing CDV and CAV-1 or CAV-2 with or without other vaccines (e.g., CPV-2, CPI). Immunosuppression begins 3 days after vaccination and persists for 7-10 days. The suppression may be associated with increased susceptibility to other diseases.

p. 21 "It is reasonable to avoid administration of any vaccine to patients with a history of systemic disease suspected to be associated with previous vaccination (e.g., immune-mediated hemolytic anemia, immune-mediated thrombocytopenia) or known to be caused by vaccine (vaccination-site cutaneous ischemic vasculitis after administration of rabies vaccine). 

p. 28 "As with pregnant dogs, veterinary medicine has advised against vaccination during illness, due to concerns about suboptimal protection, or worse, vaccine-induced illness."

p. 29 "Manufacturers only recommend administration of vaccine to healthy dogs. Dogs receiving immunosuppressive chemotherapy should not be vaccinated. Doing so may result in a suboptimal immune response or may aggravate (reactivate) an immune-mediated illness."

p.33 "Vaccine adverse events are significantly underreported in veterinary medicine."

p. 34 "The vaccination protocol that includes the minimum number of vaccines yet still provides a reasonable opportunity to immunize the dog would be: a single dose of combined infectious (attenuated, avirulent, modified live, recombinant viral vectored) CDV, MLV CPV-2, with MLV CAV-2, administered at 16 wk of age or older, plus a rabies shot at the same time (but inoculated at a separate site on the body)."


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## Kris L. Christine (Mar 25, 2009)

*Analyzing New Vaccination Recommendations for Dogs*, by Jan Rasmusen 11/15/11 AAHA Canine Vaccination Guidelines: A Closer Look | Truth4Dogs


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## 1605 (May 27, 2009)

To be honest, I haven't been able to wade through the entire dissertation/study. However, these things always bring to mind the question of administering a titers test to determine how immune the dog would be to the various diseases for which h/s has been vaccinated.

I don't know about where you live, but locally I have found that the titers test costs well in excess of what the immunizations cost due to the availability of the discount traveling clinics. 

So while I agree with the THEORY, the economic practicality of $$$ for titers vs $ immunization really complicates the decision.

Thoughts?


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## Kris L. Christine (Mar 25, 2009)

There are 2 inexpensive in-house titer kits that your vet can purchase: Vaccicheck from Biogal (contact Adie Lee at [email protected]) and :TiterChek from Synbiotics ||| Synbiotics Corporation ||| .

Anyone who's had a dog suffer a serious adverse reaction to vaccination knows how heartbreaking & extraordinarily expensive it is to treat. Personally, I would never give my dog an unnecessary vaccination because it was less expensive than having a titer.


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## 1605 (May 27, 2009)

Kris L. Christine said:


> There are 2 inexpensive in-house titer kits that your vet can purchase: Vaccicheck from Biogal (contact Adie Lee at [email protected]) and :TiterChek from Synbiotics ||| Synbiotics Corporation ||| .


That may well be, but many vets do not pass along any "savings" they may get on supplies or medications. When I bring to a vet's attention that the medication they just charged me $35.00 for would cost me $7.00 from an online source or OTC in a pharmacy, they just shrug & say things like "we survey vets in this area and that's the price everyone is charging". 

This is one of the reasons why we switched to getting heartworm meds online: the Vet writes or sends in a script to the website we use, and the website sends us the same meds (or chemically identical generics) at a significantly discounted price compared to what the vet charges. 

The gap is especially noticeable when you bring up the subject of immunizations. The traveling clinics like Affordablepets.net or petcaravan.com are dismissed with propaganda like:

- By law before we give a dog a rabies vaccination we have to examine it. That's why we charge more. (They do it with the traveling clinics as well, of course.)

- They are staffed by volunteers (Of course not!)



> Anyone who's had a dog suffer a serious adverse reaction to vaccination knows how heartbreaking & extraordinarily expensive it is to treat. Personally, I would never give my dog an unnecessary vaccination because it was less expensive than having a titer.


I understand where you're coming from. But when the dog has a clean history with immunizations and there is such a significant difference in cost, it's definitely a consideration for many people.


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