Animals – Developing immunity

Are vaccinations for our pets really necessary? The loud and clear answer to the question is, “Yes, definitely.” Vaccination has the purpose of limiting infection risk to the individual and to the total population. In a population that has a high vaccination rate, like 95 per cent for example, infection has a poor chance to take hold and spread, because the majority of individuals develop immunity after vaccination. The ones who do not develop immunity because they, for example, suffer from an immune-deficiency disorder, will have much less exposure to the infective agent, because very few individuals in the population will sustain the merry-go-round of infection from one to another.  

For immunity to develop after vaccination takes time. The length of time is dependent on the type of vaccine used, as well as the relevant vaccination protocols for the particular vaccine. As a rule of thumb, one can say that this period will be from two weeks to one month after vaccination. The duration of the immunity varies for the different types of infections that we try to prevent because the immune response to a vaccine is strongly dependent on the antigenic properties of the vaccine.  

You all know, from going to your doctor, that when you had a full course of tetanus vaccination that immunity lasts for several years, yet the flu shot has to be renewed every flu season. This is because the antigenic properties of the flu shot are lower than for a tetanus vaccine and also because the virus strains change from season to season. This is considered by the manufacturer when a seasonal vaccine is designed to meet a particular challenge.

For cats and dogs, the so-called core vaccines take care of the general threats to the health of your pet. After an initial course of several vaccinations from birth to one year of age, they get revaccinated at three-year intervals. But there are particular threats that require the use of non-core vaccines, a lot of these non-care vaccines have to be renewed on a yearly basis.

If you, for example, have a dog that is used to retrieve during the duck shooting season, this dog will spend a lot of the time in fresh water or in close proximity to the water’s edge.

This exposes the dog to a considerable risk of a leptospirosis infection, and I would strongly recommend to vaccinate yearly against this particular threat. There are other indications for vaccination against leptospirosis, and your vet will advise you why you should consider this type of non-core vaccination for your pet.

If you ever have to leave your dog at a boarding kennel, the owners will require a full core vaccination record and a non-core vaccination against kennel cough. Risk of catching kennel cough does increase with high-density, mixed populations of dogs, which would also apply to a highly frequented doggy-friendly park in the city. Again, this vaccination needs yearly renewal.

The take home message to all of you is if you have a pet, get it vaccinated. Your vet will advise you and will remind you when re-vaccination is required and will give you a booklet to record the vaccinations for each individual pet.

Olaf Klein, Wellsford Vet Clinic
www.vetsonline.co.nz/wellsfordvet