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HOD (Hypertrophic osteodystrophy) Don’t Be Fooled By National Vaccination Month
Share the truth with other pet lovers
 
During May, vets and a vaccine manufacturer in the UK will once again be running their annual ‘National Vaccination Month’ sales and marketing campaign. Backed by TV and press advertisements, the campaign tells dog, cat and rabbit owners that they can receive a free series of vaccines for the price of a booster if the animals have ‘lapsed’ by 18 months. However, many experts and vets believe that a full series in these circumstances is foolish and potentially damaging to the animals.
 
What the campaign doesn’t seem to tell pet owners is that dogs and cats, once immune to the core viral diseases, will probably never need vaccinating against these diseases ever again. Dogs should remain immune to parvovirus, distemper and hepatitis for years or life according to the World Small Animal Veterinary Association. Their advice is to vaccinate against these diseases no more often than every three years, but they add that the vast majority of dogs get lifelong protection from their puppy shots.
 
The other shots, for leptospirosis and kennel cough, are deemed ‘non-core’ by the World Small Animal Veterinary Association and, they say, should only be used if there’s a real threat of disease in the area.
 
Ask your vet how many cases of leptospirosis he’s seen in the last year, and weigh the potential side-effects against the alleged benefits of this vaccine. Side-effects from the lepto vaccine, according to Dr Ronald D Schultz, lead member of the WSAVA vaccine guidance group, are more severe than for other vaccines.
 
As for kennel cough vaccines, did you know that these can give your dog kennel cough and that he can then infect other dogs and humans?
 
According to a 2005 Animal Pharm report, veterinary vaccine sales amounted to $3,205 billion in 2004 and have risen by 7% per year since 2000. This figure was forecast to exceed $4 billion by 2009. Is your dog a cash cow?
 
Tell all the dog and cat lovers you know that core vaccines DO NOT need to be repeated every year. These cannot be ‘lapsed’ if they haven’t been boosted within the last 18 months.
 
Known vaccine side-effects include brain damage, epilepsy, behavioural changes, cancer, leukaemia, autoimmune haemolytic anaemia, thyroid disease, arthritis, epilepsy, skin problems, allergies, and other immune-mediated diseases.
 
Don’t vaccinate unnecessarily.
 
www.canine-health-concern.org.uk
www.petvaccine.weebly.com
 

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