Side Effects of Pet Vaccines: A Closer Look

In 2007 the World Small Animal Veterinary Association (WSAVA) published Dog and Cat Vaccination Guidelines (built on the US AAHA (Canine) and AAFP (Feline) guidelines) for global application. Ref: http://www.wsava.org/PDF/Misc/VGG_09_2007.pdf

The WSAVA guidelines include a number of significant statements:

- We should aim to vaccinate every animal, and to vaccinate each individual less frequently. (p. 2)

- we should aim to reduce the 'vaccine load' on individual animals in order to minimise the potential for adverse reactions to vaccine products. (p. 3)

- Vaccines should not be given needlessly. Core vaccines should not be given any more frequently than every three years after the 12 month booster injection following the puppy/kitten series. (p. 2)

- In the case of dogs, the Fact Sheets of the WSAVA guidelines note that duration of immunity after vaccination with MLV vaccines is 7 years or longer, based on challenge and serological studies, for Canine Parvovirus Type 2 (CPV-2), Canine Adenovirus (CAV-2) and Canine Distemper Virus (CDV) vaccines. (pp. 15-17)

In regards to duration of immunity, Professor Ronald Schultz, an expert in immunology and a member of the WSAVA Vaccination Guidelines Group, notes:

"I believe that dogs and cats vaccinated as puppies and kittens should be revaccinated at 1 year of age with the vaccines used earlier. After that I do not believe there is an immunologic need to revaccinate annually with CDV, CPV-2, CAV-2..." (Ref: Current and future canine and feline vaccination programs. Veterinary Medicine, March 1998, pp. 233-254).

In an article published in August 1995 (nearly 14 years ago!), Professor Schultz stated:

"I don't think there is a need to vaccinate adult dogs, since early vaccination will be sufficient to stimulate memory cells." (Ref: Are we vaccinating too much? JAVMA, Vol 207, No. 4, August 15, 1995).

If your vet sends you an annual reminder to have your adult dog revaccinated with the core MLV vaccines for parvovirus, adenovirus and distemper, challenge him. The latest scientifically based guidelines state that it is not necessary for adult dogs to have these vaccinations every year of their life. It is of no benefit and actually puts the dog needlessly at risk of an adverse reaction.

I learned this the hard way when my dog (Sasha - an eight year old Maltese x Silky terrier) became very sick with what was diagnosed as "haemorrhagic gastroenteritis" eight days after her last unnecessary revaccination with core MLV vaccines (C5 booster). My dog had six annual boosters during her life, most of which were unnecessary, and needlessly put her at risk of an adverse reaction. Sasha is now dead, put to sleep four days after the visible onset of her illness. The veterinarian who vaccinated her refused to consider her illness (and subsequent death) might have been caused or influenced by the vaccination. I am now in the process of preparing my own "adverse event" report.

I have been researching this subject since Sasha's death last September and I am shocked by what I have discovered. Australia is way behind on this issue. A culture of unnecessary and possibly harmful over-vaccination with core MLV vaccines has become entrenched. The whole system is weighted against acknowledging and reporting delayed reactions that might have been caused by vaccination. I am currently trying to fight this system.

According to a paper by an expert in this area, Dr Jean Dodds, vaccination reactions can occur up to 45 days later, or even longer. (Ref: Vaccination Protocols for Dogs Predisposed to Vaccine Reactions. Journal of the American Animal Hospital Association, May/June 2001, Vol 37, pp 211-214.)

Who knows how many other people's pets have gotten sick or died a week, a month or even longer after a revaccination and they haven't made the connection that the revaccination could have been at fault? The veterinarians aren't likely to mention it are they? The WSAVA guidelines make the point that adverse events are grossly under-reported.(p. 8). So dogs and cats can end up with chronic illnesses, or even die, and the pet owners would never know that over-vaccination may have been the cause - a case of veterinarians "burying their mistakes". If I hadn't decided to do some research after Sasha died, I wouldn't have found out about this. Sasha would have been just another unknown and uncared for statistic.

As more and more people discover that there are veterinarians who are actually putting their beloved pets needlessly at risk with unnecessary over-vaccination with core MLV vaccines, there is likely to be a significant backlash against the veterinary profession.

Those veterinarians who value the integrity of their profession need to address this untenable situation and work to ensure that the practice of unnecessary over-vaccination is ceased immediately. This has been going on for years and important scientifically based information has been withheld from pet owners.

I am trying to have this situation addressed by the Australian Veterinary Association (AVA), the Australian Pesticides and Veterinary Medicines Authority (APVMA) and Australian Veterinary Schools. So far it is proving very difficult to get effective action to address this serious problem...

Read the WSAVA Dog and Cat Vaccination Guidelines and decide for yourself.

People should be informed before they make the decision to revaccinate their pets. There are serious - and unnecessary - risks involved with over-vaccination.

My Bonny had to be put down today after a long battle against adverse vaccination reactions.. The vet cost me a fortune and arrogantly denied that the vaccine was at fault.. He never gave us the steroids that should have been tried right at the onset.. Months later they were obtained from a second vet and worked well immediately...

But by then we had spent thousands on tests and operations which achieved nothing and wasted precious time.. The delay in proper diagnosis and treatment meant that damage was done to her organs. She nearly died a number of times.. Gastro problems were the dominant symptom. She suddenly went downhill this week to the point of no return.

Details perhaps not necessary, but at the end of the day, I have been robbed of my bestest friend ever who was a 24/7 asset to me in many ways and the greatest ambassador for dogs and responsible ownership that you could wish for.. So the loss extends well beyond just me.

This vet (Phil. B. ), sends reminders of reminders, for pet owners to promptly get their "annual" vaccination.. Theres a list of complaints I have against him.. From day one I insisted that the sickness began precisely at the time following vaccination, with the first sign a lump at the needle site.

This expensive and gruelling saga which spanned 8 months until eventual death, has to this day not been reported to anyone by the vet.. It will be up to me if I can find the form and where to lodge it..

Obviously this money-hungry vet has made a lot more money from my dog dying than he would have otherwise. Bonny was an amazing dog who was treated as royalty and given as much fun and freedom as possible.

She endured so much duress and sickness following the killed vaccine reaction. I diagnosed it immediately and confirmed it through researching on the internet. The vet blamed "cancer" but the symptoms did not match and no cancer was ever found. In the end he said it was either my fault or my dogs fault!! Prior to the Companion C5 needle Bonny was 100% perfect.

This to me is just not good enough. I only wish I had been forewarned about the dangers of over-vaccinating etc.. I only did what I thought was the best thing to protect my dog. It has now turned out that my good intentions, and trust in vets, . has been severely betrayed in a most damaging way.

Bonny was an amazing and innocent much-loved pet and friend.. For her to suffer such a cruel fate is tragic.. Five and a half years old and now dead.

She was highly trained and of an irreplaceable breed.

Anyway Elizabeth, considering you were making such great efforts in 2009, it is very disappointing that there are still the same problems existing in 2012.. For me its probably the last effort at raising a great dog.. After all the investment of time, love, and money, its a traumatic , expensive end.

I will be spreading the message as far and wide as I can..

Do NOT vaccinate beyond the puppy stage without a seriously good reason.

Do NOT automatically trust any vet as if they love animals, because some of them love the money more, while some of them are also incompetent to the point of malpractice or worse.

Its a pity, since dogs are a valuable thread to the healthy social fabric.. We benefit in immeasurable ways from well kept pets. But we also suffer with their loss. Meanwhile the pharmaceutical companies make their money and then some more when dogs get sick. The dogs can't talk so they make easy targets. 8 months after that dreadful needle my dear Bonny is dead, and buried tomorrow.

"Nosodes are homeopathic remedies that are made from the specific products of a particular disease. This can be tissue containing the actual disease agents or tissue affected by those agents. Sometimes nosodes are made from vaccines containing the organisms. The nosodes are prepared in a diluted and potentized form just like all other homeopathic medicine. There is no potential for an animal to become infected with a given disease agent from a nosode because of the pharmaceutical process that occurs which dilutes and inactivates any viable organisms."

Anyhow, I continued my search to see if they can be used on people as well and found a local doctor who prepared all of the vaccinations my son needs. If you are looking for an alternative for your pet or baby, check out Nosodes.

My dog lost his hair too, around the injection site and my vet said it was my fault, and that the fur would grow back once he was feeling better. He still has that triangle of fur missing on his rump, and I will always ask for diluted rabies shots from now on. I have found that Benadryl is good for almost everything that ails a dog.

Thanks,

Becca

In the past few years, a reduced overall prevalence of infectious disease has led to a decreased awareness and perception of risk, this is, for a great part, due to the great success of canine vaccines!!

Mass media in the UK and US have put pressure on vets and "freaked out" pet owners whilst overlooking the benefits of vaccination.

I am not saying there are no problems or never side effects. Just remember there are two sides to every argument and diseases like parvo & distemper are on the rise again and are a painful and miserable way to die!

Anika from Auckland wrote that side effects are less frequent than 0.001%. I wonder where she got that number from. Veterinarians hardly ever report the side effects they see in their clinics.

George Moore and co-workers give quite a different picture in their study "Adverse events diagnosed within three days of vaccine administration in dogs", JAVMA 2005. The incidence is as high as 0.38%. Risk factors: young age, small breed, number of vaccines that are given simultaneously. A similar study on side effects in cats showed an incidence of 0.48% (Moore et al, JAVMA 2007). I think that these studies do not reveal the full extent of side effects, due to their limited time frames and limited set of diagnoses.

But incidences and percentages are really moot if your own cat dies from a vaccine-caused sarcoma (as one of our cats did). Cause of death: unnecessary revaccinations.

There is no immunological justification for annual (or triennial) revaccinations with modified-live viral vaccines (canine distemper, canine parvo, canine hepatitis, canine parainfluenzavirus; feline parvovirus, feline herpesvirus, feline calicivirus). Period.

With deepest sympathy to all those who lost their cat or dog because of over-vaccination,

Monika
(My apologies for my poor English.)

I therefore did a lot of research and realized how the vet industry is beholding to the commercial pet food industry (their foods causing pets' illnesses requiring ongoing and never-ending vet bills). Do a search on "What's really in our pets' foods. " Also, don't forget, there's additional money to be made by vets using their various machines for medical testing (it's not uncommon for vets to require a more costly test when a simple bloodwork might do--always research what you suspect your pets' condition may be PRIOR to a vet visit, learning what the appropriate and less costly testing may or may not be involved for diagnosis and treatment). Unnecessarily repeated and toxic vaccines also add to a vet's bottom line. One year, my dog had a vaccine and 2 weeks later, he developed black crud in his ears. Another costly vet bill to resolve. However, afterwards, I learned that the condition was a by-product of the vaccine. My vet's explanation--"Oh, these things happen"--never once, did he allude to the vaccine until I called him on it. Needless to say, I never visited him again.

The best way to prevent disease in our dogs and cats is to feed them a raw meat diet (no grains/dairy/any COOKED foods), to include healthy pre-packaged dog/cat foods like BRAVO in the USA(containing the balance of nutrients required for their daily needs). As a layperson, it's next to impossible trying to duplicate these needed pet nutrients yourself. But, I do add to their diets by buying low-cost meats like hearts and livers from my local butcher (livers contain Vitamin A, a vitamin that stores in the body, hence, you must not overfeed liver--I limit my pets to 3x weekly). Fresh vegetables and fruits are also added to meals, care is taken not to overdose on fruits either.

For teeth, forget the toothbrushing, which, I believe is ridiculous advice from an industry that simply wants to sell their products. Dogs & cats natural toothbrush is the eating of raw (never cooked) bones. Some pet owners disagree with such advice, stating that some pets simply cannot eat bones. If you think that, do your own research and decide for yourself.

One indicator that you are feeding your pets well is you'll notice that their poo and breath do not smell--and, most importantly, they are not passing gas. My dog is presently 3 years old, her teeth are pearly white, and, she can pant in my face--you can hardly notice any smell at all. Always watch your pets elimination practices and results--a good indicator of current health (Fiber in the form of crushed flax seeds is good).

Once disease takes hold, as it did with each of my three wee ones, I tried hard to save them. However, my guess is that after years of bad eating before I got smart, the damage wasn't able to be undone. As you seek answers for your dogs or cats, also remember--they may be mammals like human beings and therefore may share benefits from similar remedies. However, their biologies are unique to them, and, a remedy safe for one may be lethal for another. Even between dogs and cats. Were you aware that gerbils eat cyanide safely? Imagine what it'd do for you. Do your research before deciding on any remedy for your pets.

There is a dog at a vet's office on all sorts of IVs to no avail. Diarrhea, not eating, in very bad shape. You name it, the vet's office keeps trying. I have read of kidney and liver damage in

these cases. Is there a cure? After many days, I am wondering. This dog is very popular in a world wide Virtual story teller's stories on Facebook.

Spoke with vet yesterday who recommended I try to give her only water last night. She did not want it. Had an urgent care appt last night at 9 PM but canceled because she was resting and had not vomited since 3:30 pM. Today I gave her the food and water and she vomited a little but is acting normally.
What is the danger to her? Vomiting is only dangerous after 24-48 hours right? What do you advise?

Many Thanks!

Spread vaccines out as much as as possible. I had always been on the late side of getting my other pooches vaccinated and never had such long term issues.

I cant express my regret enough.