Infectious diseases used to kill thousands of pets every year until the introduction of vaccinations.
We do still see cases but there are fewer outbreaks of diseases than there were years ago as most owners will now vaccinate their pets, but this needs to continue otherwise we will end up with a similar situation to the human disease measles, which has resulted from children not being protected with the MMR vaccine.
It is worth remembering that many of the diseases we vaccinate against are killers – puppies that contract parvovirus can easily die and other diseases including distemper and infectious hepatitis can be fatal to dogs.
Parvovirus, distemper and infectious hepatitis are now licensed for use every three years but the leptospirosis and the kennel cough vaccination is still licensed to give annually so your dog needs to be seen by a vet every year.
Leptospirosis is a zoonotic disease which means that it can be passed from animal to human; it can cause a very serious infection in humans called Weil’s disease.
We routinely vaccinate against cat flu, leukaemia and panleucopenia. If an unvaccinated cat contracts cat flu it can be very unpleasant, it is highly contagious to other unvaccinated cats and it can be fatal in kittens. Leukaemia and panleucopenia are potentially fatal diseases and cats require yearly injections for prevention of these.
In rabbits there are two diseases to vaccinate against, myxomatotsis which is very common in the UK and is usually fatal, and VHD (viral haemorrhagic disease), which is also fatal if contracted and doesn’t usually give any symptoms before death.
There are now two strains of VHD that can be vaccinated against, the VHD strain one is vaccinated yearly and is combined with the myxomatosis and the VHD strain two is licensed six-monthly so two injections are needed every year.
As with any drug there is always the possibility of a reaction but serious adverse reactions are extremely rare.
All vaccinations have undergone rigorous testing to ensure they are safe, and although some animals may still have a degree of immunity against a disease after the annual recommendations, it is advised to keep vaccinating at the licensed time.
Some people prefer to use homeopathic vaccines but we have seen dogs still contract diseases following these vaccines and there is no evidence to suggest that homeopathic vaccines are powerful enough to prevent from infectious diseases.
Prevention is better than cure so please get your pets booked in with a vet if they have lapsed with any vaccine.
