What's in a Vaccine?
The question of whether or not to vaccinate a dog against a disease is one of the most controversial in holistic veterinary medicine. Every veterinarian seems to have a different opinion on this subject.
Far more than just a needle and some liquid, a vaccine is one of the most important preventive health measures in existence. It is introduced into the body in order to prevent infection or control disease that is caused by a disease-producing organism, such as a virus or bacteria. When your dog receives a vaccine, a tiny amount of antigen, or a disease-causing organism known as a pathogen, is injected into the body. This stimulates the immune system to produce a response by making antibodies to protect it from the invader.
Do holistic veterinarians recommend vaccines?
Every doctor has a different opinion. Some give no vaccines at all, some give the core set only to puppies, and some comply with the legal requirements of their state. Other vets administer titers, or blood tests that determine immunity levels, before vaccinating.
When the body is attacked by a real pathogen, the immune system responds quickly by producing antibodies to fight infection or disease. Vaccines are meant to teach the immune system how to respond in case of future exposure to the pathogen. An effective vaccine provides the right amount and the right type of antigen to protect against disease.
The Immune System
Immunizations protect dogs against diseases, viruses, bacteria, and spirochetes by stimulating the immune system. These diseases — such as rabies, canine distemper, canine parvovirus, canine adenovirus, canine parainfluenza, leptospirosis, and Lyme disease — are serious.
While it is ideal to protect dogs from these harmful diseases, administering vaccines becomes counterproductive when dogs experience severe averse reactions to them. Some dogs have immediate allergic reactions to vaccines. In the mildest forms, these symptoms can include lethargy, fever, loss of appetite, muscle swelling, or permanent hair loss near the point of injection. Moderate reactions include intense itching, hives, and rapid swelling and redness of the lips and around the eyes and neck.
Rabies is a killer virus. More than 50,000 people and millions of animals contract it every year around the world. Cases occur in all states in the United States except Hawaii. An infected dog can spread rabies when it bites a healthy animal or person. It can be prevented by a series of rabies vaccines.
More serious issues include potentially fatal breathing difficulties, neurological disorders, and autoimmune problems. In cases of autoimmune disease, the body attacks its own cells due to an overactive immune response, possibly triggered by a vaccine or another stimulus.
The stresses a vaccine can place on the immune system can be compounded by poor nutrition, current illness, or emotional and psychological stresses. For females, fluctuating hormones are another stress on the body when she is either coming into estrus, going out of estrus, or is pregnant.
Core Vaccines
Vaccine manufacturers market more than a dozen vaccines for diseases that affect dogs, but this doesn't mean your dog should receive all of them. Maybe you live in an area where one particular disease isn't prevalent or your dog is an indoor dog and is seldom exposed to other dogs that might transmit it.
With all the different types and combinations of vaccines, it's easy to become confused about which vaccine you should give your dog or even how often to vaccinate. For this reason, many people leave it up to their veterinarian to make that decision. Be an informed dog owner and discuss the options with your veterinarian.
In 2006, the American Animal Hospital Association (AAHA) Canine Vaccine Task Force recommended that certain core vaccines should be given to all dogs in the United States. These include the following:
Canine adenovirus-2 (CAV-2). This vaccine protects against infectious canine hepatitis, a disease that affects the liver, eyes, kidneys, and blood vessels. The symptoms include fever, inflammation of the nose or mouth, abdominal pain, diarrhea, loss of appetite, depression, and hemorrhage.
Canine distemper virus (CDV). Distemper is a highly contagious viral infection that affects the nervous system, respiratory system, and gastrointestinal tract with symptoms such as coughing, sneezing, nasal discharge, fever, loss of appetite, vomiting, diarrhea, and seizures. Although it is fatal, this disease is rare today.
Canine parvovirus (CPV). Highly contagious and potentially deadly, parvovirus affects the gastrointestinal tract and white blood cells. The symptoms are bloody diarrhea, vomiting, and lethargy.
Rabies virus. Rabies invades the nervous system and is spread through the saliva of infected animals. It is fatal once symptoms appear. In many states, rabies vaccinations are mandated by law.
The AAHA recommends that these core vaccines be given to puppies starting at six to eight weeks of age and given every three to four weeks until puppies reach fifteen to sixteen weeks of age. A booster should follow at one year and every three years after that. Many holistic and integrative veterinarians suggest the following protocol:
9–10 weeks of age: Distemper/Parvo MLV
14 weeks: Distemper/Parvo MLV
20 weeks or older: Rabies one year killed
1 year: Distemper/Parvo MLV 1 year: Rabies, three year killed, three to four weeks apart from any other vaccine
Subsequent vaccines or titers every three years
Non-Core Vaccines
Non-core vaccines are optional. They cover those diseases that are endemic to your particular geographic area, but they are withheld if your dog has a higher risk of an adverse reaction to the vaccine than of contracting the disease itself. All vaccine protocols should be individualized to the dog. Non-core vaccinations include:
Bordetella bronchiseptica. This is referred to as kennel cough because a group of dogs can contract it when they are kept in close quarters. There are several strains and severe cases can progress into pneumonia. The vaccine is most often given nasally. It is short-lived and must be repeated yearly.
Canine parainfluenza virus (CPiV). Highly contagious, this respiratory disease is a strain of kennel cough that can progress into a secondary infection.
Leptospirosis. A spiral-shaped bacteria that thrives in stagnant, warm water such as a pond or a pool. Symptoms are lethargy, muscle pain, fever, and excessive drinking and urinating due to kidney infection.
Lyme borreliosis. Lyme disease. Carried by ticks, it is prevalent only in certain areas of the United States.
Bordetella, coronavirus, and giardia vaccines only provide limited immunity and have variable efficacy. The Lyme vaccine should only be given in areas where the risk of contracting the disease is greater than 50 percent. In areas where the infection rate is less than 10 percent, the AAHA does not recommend the Lyme vaccine. The leptospirosis vaccine only offers limited short-term immunity, and doses must be repeated every six to nine months.
