Puppies and Vaccines 1

Transcription

1 Puppies and Vaccines 1

2 Puppy Immunity Passive Immunity happens when one animal receives their immune system from another. Puppies receive their immunity through the First Milk called colostrum. Until puppies drink colostrum, they have no real immune system. The immunity from colostrum is called Maternal Immunity

3 Colostrum: The First Milk Colostrum is yellowish and higher in protein than milk. Colostrum contains nutrients, fats, hormones and immunoglobulins Another word for immunoglobulin is antibody. Newborn puppies have a specially designed digestive tract barrier that allows the larger antibodies to pass through into the bloodstream.

4 Colostrum: The First Milk Once a puppy is born, this barrier starts to close, preventing antibodies from crossing into the bloodstream. The digestive system starts to break down the antibodies so they can be used as a protein. They offer no immune benefit once digested. Even while the barrier is fully open, not all antibodies are absorbed into the bloodstream. 40% are absorbed by the puppy at birth 20% are absorbed 4 hours after delivery 9% after 12 hours 0% after 24 hours Puppies must therefore receive colostrum within the first 8 hours of life for it to have any real effect

5 Absorbing the First Milk

6 Maternal Antibodies Maternal antibodies move throughout the puppy s blood, marking diseases and providing an immune response to diseases that the puppy may be exposed to. The puppy's own body will not mount a defense. These antibodies are transmitted in a finite amount and slowly decline over time. As the maternal antibodies age and break down, there comes a point where they cannot protect your puppy.

7 Maternal Antibody Decay

8 Maternal Antibody Decay Maternal antibodies decay and different rates By litter By puppy By disease Depends on the original strength of Mom s immunity All maternal antibodies are gone by week 16 Distemper usually declines by weeks 8-9 Parvo declines later

9 Building Immunity As the maternal antibodies age and break down, the puppy's own immune system must kick in and begin making antibodies. The puppy begins fighting small diseases like herpes and common bacteria. As a puppy grows, it's ability to fight bigger diseases grows. Vaccinations allow a puppy to fight a big disease while the puppy is still small.

10 Building Immunity Vaccines imitate an infection without causing the disease. The immune system reacts to the vaccine by producing supply of antibodies that will remember how to fight that disease in the future. It takes a few weeks for the dog to produce antibodies after vaccination. It is possible that a recently vaccinated dog can get the disease if the body has not had enough time to generate its own antibodies.

11 Building Immunity

12 Maternal Antibody Interference If a puppy still has Mom s maternal antibodies, those antibodies will attack the vaccine as if it was a disease. The puppy's own body will not react. The puppy will not be able to create it s own antibodies. This is called Maternal Antibody Interference. Not as many of Mom s antibodies are needed to fight off the vaccine as are needed to fight the real disease in the wild.

13 Maternal Antibody Interference

14 Vaccination If a puppy is vaccinated with a combination vaccine (DHPP) under 9 weeks of age, the parvovirus component of the combination vaccine is not likely to work because maternal immunity for Parvo has not worn off. However, the Parvo component can actually work against the effectiveness of the Distemper component.

15 Window of Susceptibility This results in a period of time where the puppy s own immune system has not created antibodies to fight off disease because the maternal antibodies have suppressed the vaccine and the Mom s Maternal Immunity has worn down to the point where it can t fight a disease either. This point is called the Window of Susceptibility. Despite being vaccinated, a puppy can still contract a disease. The length and timing of the Window of Susceptibility is different in every litter, and even between individuals in a litter.

16 Window of Susceptibility

17 Vaccine Interference If a puppy receives 3 vaccines between weeks 8 and 16 and achieves immunity, only 1 of the 3 vaccines will have created the immunity. The other 2 vaccines were rendered ineffective because of either: Maternal Antibody Interference or Vaccine Interference Scenario Vaccine 8 weeks Vaccine 12 weeks Vaccine 16 weeks Age 20 weeks 1 Vaccine worked Vaccine Interference Puppy Immune Vaccine Interference Puppy Immune Puppy Immune 2 Maternal Antibody Interference Vaccine worked Vaccine Interference Puppy Immune Puppy Immune 3 Maternal Antibody Interference Maternal Antibody Interference Vaccine worked Puppy Immune

18 Vaccine Reactions Vaccinations can cause an over-stimulation of the immune system. The body responds by mistaking it s own cells as foreign and attacks them. Vaccination reactions may be immediate (withing hours) or delayed (years). The more antigens (diseases) contained in a single vaccine, the greater the risk of autoimmune disease. The more vaccines, especially in the first 2 years, the more likely a dog will have an adverse reaction.

19 Vaccine Reactions Young dogs are known to have more vaccine adverse reactions than older adult dogs and smaller breeds also are more susceptible. Vaccinosis reactions tend to be seen after the second to third booster than the initial one of a puppy series. Dr. Jean Dodds

20 Auto-Immune Diseases If your dog develops an autoimmune disease, at minimum he/she will be put on prednisone. Prednisone suppresses the autoimmune system. Your dog may require Pred for the rest of it s life. Pred causes muscle laxity and reduces the efficacy of the immune system. No running, jumping or agility No raw diet Depending on dosage, no swimming The dog may become obese

21 Auto-Immune Diseases in Tollers The most significant genetic disease that Tollers suffer from are auto-immune disorders. Addison's Auto-Immune Dermatitis Auto Immune Thyroiditis (est 1 in 6) Copper Storage Disease Cutaneous Discoid Lupus Immune Mediated Hemolytic Anemia Immune Mediated Polyarthritis Immune Mediated Rheumatoid Arthritis Immune Mediated Thrombocytopenia Mast Cell Tumour (Cancer) Polycythemia Vera Steroid Responsive Meningitis (est 2.5 in 100) Food Allergies Environmental Allergies Yeast Infections Vaccine Reaction Resulting in Short Illness Vaccine Reaction Resulting in Injury

22 Managing the Risk Consider using an Enlightened Vet They are more aware of autoimmune disorders and the impact vaccines can have. They are more likely to support the use of titres. They are more likely to have individual vaccines instead of combinations They are provide products like Thuja to use after vaccination help prevent adverse reactions They are usually quick to agree to vaccine exemptions

23 Managing the Risk Reduce the number of Vaccines You must then reduce the chance of your puppy being exposed to a disease it may not be immune to. Space the vaccines out 3-4 weeks apart See if individual vaccines are available instead of combination vaccines. Assess the practical risk of diseases like Kennel Cough. It is our opinion that this vaccine is not necessary.

24 Managing the Risk Reduce the stressors on the puppy before any vaccination. The puppy should be free of illness or injury including: Vomiting Recovering from surgeries Other inoculations

25 Managing the Risk The female should not be within 6 weeks of an active heat. Heat=Stressor Puppies should not be inoculated when they are unsupervised. Consider inoculating on a Friday so the family can be with the puppy over the weekend. Consider titre testing to identify the presence of antibodies instead of inoculating.

26 Managing the Risk: Titre Test A titre is a blood test that measures the circulating antibodies. If a titre result is high, it can be assumed that the immune system is capable of a successful response to the antigen in question. Antibodies may be present from a vaccination or after your dog has fought an infection.

27 Managing the Risk: Titre Test Antibodies will not show on a titre until 2-3 weeks after a vaccination. Strong titre results will be apparent from recent vaccinations. If you are doing a titre test on a puppy that was vaccinated 4 weeks earlier, and the maternal immunity had decayed to a point where it didn t interfere with the vaccine, the titre results should show a strong antibody count and the puppy will not need another puppy vaccinations. Weak titres results happen when there has been: incomplete vaccinations, old vaccinations and maternal antibody interference

28 Managing the Risk: Titre Test Titre tests do not measure: Humoral immunity (the ability of the body to create antibodies) or Cellular immunity (the ability of T-Cells to detect which of our body cells contain a virus) The cells associated to Humoral immunity maintain a memory and will create antibodies to neutralize a threat. If the result of a titre is low, this does not mean low immunity. Immunity is either there or it isn t There is no scale of immunity There is no such thing as a booster

29 Managing the Risk: Titre Test Core Vaccines Titre tests are done based on a small blood sample. Veterinarians have 3 ways to perform a titre test. in house. Laboratories. Veterinary clinics can send blood samples to companies like Antech and Idexx to perform testing Teaching Hospitals. The most inexpensive testing is done through the laboratories of veterinary teaching hospitals. Many Veterinarians are not aware of this service. Your vet may charge you additional fees to perform a titre Veterinary Exam fee Blood draw fee Courier costs

30 Managing the Risk Titre Tests: Rabies Titre tests are done based on a small blood sample. In North America, the Rabies Titres are conducted at Kentucky State University. The cost (as of February, 2017) is $90 US. In addition, your vet may charge you the following fees Veterinary Exam fee Blood draw fee Courier costs

31 Managing the Risk Veterinarians typically charge the following fees for vaccines. Veterinary Exam fee Vaccine cost Veterinarians typically charge the following fees for titres Veterinary Exam fee Blood draw fee Courier fee (if required) Titre cost (depending on each disease being tested and the lab being used). The potential costs of treating an autoimmune disease over the reduced lifespan of a Toller: $20K-$40k

32 Exercise 1 of 5 You are bringing your puppy home at 10 weeks of age. Red Shadow Kennels vaccinated your puppy against Parvo and Distemper at 9 weeks and you have been given the inoculation brochure. You have made your appointment for a health exam for 2 days later. Your vet recommends you return for a DHPP shot at 12 weeks of age. What should you do?

33 Exercise 2 of 5 You are taking your puppy to your vet s for his/her vaccinations at 16 weeks. The tech assisting your vet has prepared a DHPP vaccine, a Rabies vaccine and a Lepto vaccine. The syringes are full and lying on the counter in the examination room. What should you do?

34 Exercise 3 of 5 You are taking your puppy to your vet s for a spay/neuter. While there, your vet recommends that you get a 1 year rabies booster since you are there. What should you do?

35 Exercise 4 of 5 You are travelling to Hamilton with your 8 month old puppy for the upcoming weekend. News reports indicate that there was a recent outbreak of rabies within a kilometer of where you are staying. What should you do?

36 Exercise 5 of 5 You are taking your puppy to your veterinarian for a rabies vaccine. What do you do before going? What do you do while there? What do you do after?

37 Questions?