Vaccine Protocols

Ever wonder what all those initials stand for when your dog or cat gets their yearly (or hopefully now every three-year) "shots?" Dogs or puppies usually get vaccines with letters like DHLPP. D stands for distemper, a virus which can affect many organs of the body, especially the nervous system. H is for hepatitis, an infectious disease of the liver, spread by contact with urine, feces and other secretions of infected animals. L is for leptospirosis, a bacterial disease of which there are many strains. The liver and kidney are most commonly affected, and are often transmitted by wildlife in the area. P is for Parvovirus, a highly contagious, often fatal disease of the digestive system. The other P is for parainfluenza, a nasty respiratory infection. Cats and kittens are usually given a vaccine with letters like FvRCP. FvR is for feline viral rhinotracheitis, an upper respiratory disease. C is for calicivirus, another mostly respiratory disease, though we also see mouth ulcers with calici. P is for panleukopenia, or feline distemper. It can affect many organs of the body, including the nervous and gi systems.

We don't have a one-size-fits-all for our vaccine protocols at our hospital. That makes it hard to give estimates when people call wanting to know what it will cost to get their pet up-to-date on "shots." The truth is there are numerous answers to that question based on the individual pets' needs, their exposure risks, lifestyles, etc. It doesn't make sense to give a pet a vaccine for a disease where they just don't have the risk of contracting the disease. There is some good information on recommended vaccines for dogs and cats at the vaccine protocol link on my hospital website www.lsah.vetsuite.com

We just recently changed the manufacturer of all of the cat vaccines, as well, to avoid the adjuvents or "carriers" in the vaccines that have been attributed to the vaccine-site sarcomas or cancers in some cats. It has been shown that some of these cancers can show up 9 years after an injection! While this is, thankfully, a very rare occurrence, to have it happen at all to a patient we were trying to give a preventative vaccine to would be a terrible tragedy. Get more information on vaccine-associated sarcomas at www.avma.org/vafstf Not vaccinating at all just isn't the right response, for your cat or for human health (rabies virus.)

One of the cat vaccines, the feline leukemia vaccine, is now delivered by a transdermal route-a needleless system that looks like a space-age instrument. (See the above picture.) It is pretty cool, but took some getting used to. The staff has been very supportive of the changes, knowing we are doing them for the benefits of the patient's health. It would be a lot easier to keep things the way they have always been done, but medicine, particularly immunology, is always changing, and I will do my best to keep up with those changes.

Peace,
DrReneigh