[This lil kitten really wants to make sure he does his research before getting vaccinated (and not just because he hates needles!). But does he know the difference between vaccine fact and vaccine myth? Do you?]
Vaccine myths and misconceptions are running rampant in this age of easily accessed but poorly researched information. This week and next we’ll be discussing the top 8 most common myths I hear in the veterinary clinic (and which have some truth behind them!). Missed the previous posts in this series? Check out Part One for an overview of vaccines and why I care so much about them, Part Two for a quick dive into the immune system and how it works to protect us with the help of vaccines, and Part Three for exactly which vaccines we recommend for dogs and cats (and why!).
Dear Clients;
We live in an age of information. The Internet has made it possible to access so much data about so many topics so incredibly easily; a blessing to be sure, but occasionally a curse. Misinformation runs rampant and with so many different sources to choose from, it becomes difficult to tell who is able to give accurate data based on science and who is not. I always have a conflicted feeling when I walk into an appointment and a client tells me that they’ve been ‘doing their research’ — I am so delighted to have patients whose families want to do the right thing and educate themselves, but I’m nervous that the information they’ve found may not be correct — and worse, that they’ll trust the anonymity of the Internet over their veterinarian. That’s why today, I’ve put together some of the most common myths and misconceptions I hear regarding vaccination and the truth behind them. Together, let’s set the record straight and keep our pets living long, healthy, happy lives!
“My small/miniature/toy breed dog should get 1/2 or 1/4 the dose of vaccine, since they’re so much smaller than other dogs.”
This myth is one of the most prevalent that I hear, probably because in a lot of ways it makes sense on the surface. Almost all medications given to animals are dosed based on body weight/body size, i.e., in “milligrams [of drug] per kilograms [of bodyweight]”. A commonly used antibiotics, for instance, is usually dosed at 12.5mg/kg, so a 5kg Shih Tzu would get 62.5mg of drug while a 35kg Labrador would get 437.5mg of drug. This is done because of the way medication is absorbed and used by the body’s systems, with a certain amount of drug needing to be present in a certain concentration in blood and tissues. A vaccine, on the other hand, works very differently. A single 1ml rabies vaccine contains a certain amount of antigens, determined to be the correct amount to ‘teach’ the immune system about the disease and called the Minimum Immunizing Dose. The MID is different for each species and vaccine, but not different for individuals within a species. An animal’s size does not determine the ability of their immune system to learn, and so the amount in the vaccine is appropriate for any size of dog or cat. In fact — the amount of rabies vaccine which is given to horses is only about twice that of the amount given to dogs, despite the enormous size difference! And if your small/miniature/toy breed dog is given less than a full dose of vaccine, they will receive an insufficient amount of antigen to develop their immunity and the vaccine will likely not be effective. This is especially devastating in cases where breeders vaccinate their own puppies with too-small doses of vaccine before selling them as vaccinated, leading to heartbreak when the puppies develop preventable diseases.
“Vaccines will give my pet cancer.”
This is another extremely common concern that I hear, and it is based somewhat in truth. There is one kind of cancer associated with vaccinations in cats, known as “Vaccine-Associated Sarcoma (VAS)” or “Feline Injection Site Sarcoma (FISS)”. This is a tumor arising from the site of a vaccine, and it is believed to occur in less than 1 in 10 000 cases. It is not entirely understood what part of vaccination contributes to tumor development, but adjuvants — irritating ingredients added to vaccines to help trigger the immune system to respond — may increase the risk and so feline vaccines without these ingredients have been developed and are coming into widespread use. It is now recommended that all veterinarians give vaccines in the lower limbs so that in the event of a tumor developing, the limb can be amputated to prevent metastasis. However, the likelihood of a VAS developing compared with the likelihood of a non-vaccinated cat developing a vaccine-preventable illness makes it clear that careful vaccination is still in the best interests of the cat. No link has been proven between cancer and vaccination in dogs.
“My indoor cat doesn’t need vaccines/my apartment-living dog doesn’t need vaccines.”
While it is very true that many pets don’t need to be vaccinated with non-core vaccines if their risk is low (e.g. city-living dogs are at extremely low risk for leptospirosis, indoor-only cats are at extremely low risk for feline leukemia), core vaccines are called that because they are considered necessary for every pet. An indoor cat can easily be exposed to panleukopenia by a visitor tracking in contaminated soil on their shoes, or they may contract herpesvirus from sitting in the waiting room at the vet’s office. Even an ‘apartment dog’ who rarely spends time outside or in contact with other animals can contract parvo from contaminated surfaces. Rabies, in my province, is most frequently transmitted by bats which can easily find themselves disoriented and inside. The risks do exist, and the recommendations are in place for a reason. If your vet is recommending a non-core vaccine and you don’t feel your pet is at risk, talk to your vet about why they’re suggesting it! They may have insight that you don’t (e.g. reported outbreaks), but equally they may not know how low-risk your pet is.
“Vaccinated animals can still get vaccine-preventable diseases, so vaccines clearly don’t work or gave my pet the disease.”
This is a tricky one. The answer is that yes, animals which have been vaccinated can still be at risk of developing these diseases –but the reason why doesn’t really have anything to do with the vaccine itself. The most common case like this that we see is a puppy, maybe 8-16 weeks old, who comes in for its first vaccines and presents five days later with parvovirus. In these cases the puppy didn’t get parvo from the vaccine (that’s not actually possible), but rather had already been exposed to and was incubating the disease at the time of vaccination. Animals can be infected 10-14 days before symptoms develop, and once they’re infected vaccination isn’t going to do anything. Animals who haven’t been vaccinated appropriately e.g. have never had boosters or who had 1/2 doses of vaccine can also develop these diseases as their immune system was never able to develop a complete response. And, very rarely, there are those animals which do not develop an immune response no matter how appropriately they are vaccinated. This is usually associated with other immune issues and is nothing to do with the vaccine, rather the ability of the immune system to respond.
Hopefully by now we’ve started to scratch the surface of the various vaccine myths and mythconceptions (pardon the pun!). Tune in next week for the last four myths we’re going to cover!
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