New veterinary guide for dog vaccination – Animalshealth

The American Association of Animal Hospitals (AAHA) has released its new ‘2022 Canine Vaccination Guidelines’ guide, which is intended to help veterinarians offer as personalized care as possible to their patients by determining which vaccines are essential for each individual dog. In this sense, the guide – which has been endorsed by Boehringer Ingelheim, Elanco, MSD Animal Health and Zoetis – explains that all dogs should have a series of basic vaccinations (unless there is a medical reason not to vaccinate), such as distemper, adenovirus, parvovirus, parainfluenza and rabies. In addition to these, according to the AAHA, there are other vaccines that are just as essential for some dogs depending on their lifestyle and risk, such as Leptospira, which, according to the American association, “should be considered for all dogs based on increasing prevalence.” Also among the vaccines that the AAHA considers essential are those for Lyme disease, Bordetella and canine influenza, among others. When administering a vaccine, from the American association they emphasize that each veterinarian must take into account the lifestyle of each specific dog, thus adding to the basic vaccines, those that are necessary depending on the risk factors that animals face in their day to day. “In the 2022 guidance, we provide veterinarians with a blueprint for developing vaccine protocols that address individualized risk and ensure that all dogs, regardless of lifestyle, are protected against disease and that herd immunity is maintained,” says John Ellis, co-chair of the AAHA’s 2022 Canine Vaccination Guidelines Task Force. Ellis argues that “vaccines are an essential part of preventive canine health care for both individuals and populations,” stressing that they provide a significant barrier for some infectious agents that can be passed from dogs to humans. The AAHA notes that some owners may believe their dogs don’t need vaccinations, but this can be a dangerous misconception. The guidelines point to repeated outbreaks of canine distemper and parvovirus in shelters, as well as recent outbreaks of measles in human populations, as evidence that low vaccination rates may have public health consequences. Licensed canine vaccines have a high degree of proven safety and efficacy, and veterinarians can be confident that the benefits of vaccination far outweigh the risks in dogs with unknown immune status or vaccination history. AAHA. VACCINATION OF PETS IS PUBLIC HEALTH Likewise, they detail in the guide that, although dogs with low-risk lifestyles (that is, minimal exposure to other animals) can benefit from herd immunity, unvaccinated individuals are still more vulnerable to infection, and reductions in population-level vaccination rates without eradication of the pathogen will inevitably result in a recurrence of disease to outbreak levels. “The vaccination of companion animals protects the health of pets; improves animal welfare in shelters; protects public health; and reduces the occurrence of infectious diseases that are transmitted mainly within a species, such as distemper, parvovirus and canine variants of the rabies virus”, underlines the American association. In this regard, he remarks that “vaccines are one of the medical and public health success stories of the 19th and 20th centuries. Its use has reduced morbidity and mortality more than any other intervention in human and veterinary medicine.” On the other hand, the AAHA recalls in its new guide that no vaccine is 100% effective and they explain that, among the reasons why a vaccine may not be effective, is the inability of the vaccinated patient to generate an adequate immune response and the possible exposure to infection before being fully vaccinated; as well as improper storage or handling of the vaccine, including improper administration, among others. “We are very proud of these updated guidelines because they help veterinarians take charge of their patients’ health based on real-time data about the risks in their area and the lifestyle of dogs. This is especially important as we are seeing an increase in reports of leptospirosis. These guidelines allow veterinary teams to be flexible and responsive to new developments as they determine which vaccines should become ‘staples’ for their patients,” said Jessica Vogelsang, AAHA Medical Director. ACCESS THE DOG VACCINATION GUIDE