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North Dekalb Veterinary Clinic

News and Events

Updates regularly

Vaccination Update

Anyone who routinely surfs pet related websites or reads

pet

magazines has likely been exposed to the myriad of

vaccine

controversies currently surrounding this

common

medical

practice. Vaccinations have been a

boon to

health

care

reducing illness and

saving countless lives. Until

vaccination

became routine, infectious disease was a

leading

cause of

death

in both the human population as

well as the

pet/animal

population. On the human side,

disease

such as

smallpox

and

polio have been well

controlled

by widespread

vaccination

, and

many

lives are saved by the yearly

influenza

vaccines

For

dogs,

Distemper and Parvovirus

were

both major sources of

illness throughout the 70's and

80's

but have

become much less

frequent due to

widespread

use

effective vaccines.

Cats, too,

have benefited from

vacci

ations t

hat

have

decreased the

incidence of Feline

Leukemia and

Panleukopenia. In truth, the

effectiveness

vaccines

and the

benefits of vaccination are not

really part

of the current

vaccine controversy. Vaccination is

now,

and will

continue to

be, a major component o

f any

preventative

health care program.

The real issues in the vaccine controversy are safety and

duration of immunity. Are vaccines safe? Do benefits

outweigh

risks? How often should vaccines be given?

Are

yearly

boosters really necessary? These are the

questions

that

veryone

should

be asking about vaccinations.

Are vaccines safe?

accinating pets

should be

considered

a medical procedure

and

must be treated

with

respect. Like any medical

procedure,

both

the risks and

benefits

eed to be

evaluated.

Vaccines are drugs

and

as such,

drug reactions may occur.

Allergic reactions,

fevers,

lethargy, and other adverse

reactions

occasionally

occur

following the administration of

vaccines

. There may also

a link between

certain vaccines

or vaccine additives and a

form of

cancer termed

fibrosarcoma (this issue is under

investigation and has lead

to changes in

many

vaccines

currently in use for pets).

Vaccine safety may also be

influenced by a patients overall

health. Vaccination may

risky for individuals with

autoimmune disease, cancer

and

other illnesses affecting

their immune systems.

Vaccinations

may also be dangerous

for

patients with

undiagnosed diseases

or organ

dysfunction. For this

reason,

the physical exam is the

most

important part of

pre-

vaccination assessments for

patients.

Clients should

look to

their veterinarians to help

identify

risks

improve safety

and maximize the benefits of

vaccinations

. Those without

training should proceed

cautiously when attempting to

vaccinate their own pets.

An equally important way to improve vaccine safety is to

choose the appropriate vaccine based on the patients

risk of

exposure to an

illness. If we consider vaccines to be drugs

and

vaccination a medical procedure, it only makes sense to

evaluate each patient individually to determine which

vaccines

they should really receive. The lifestyle,

environment,

and

health of each pet must

all

be considered

to accurately

determine

he appropriate vaccines

Clients

should be wary of

vaccine approaches that

simply offer

every available vaccine to

every patient.

There are

potentially 10-12 different

vaccines

available

for dogs and

cats

but it is unlikely that any patient

would

need every

one.

How long do vaccines last and are boosters

really

important?

The other aspect of the vaccine controversy involves

something called duration of immunity. For many years,

the

vaccination schedule was dictated by manufacturers.

Most

vaccine labels still advise annual revaccination

and

one is

certain how long vaccines actually last. In

order to

accurately

test this, large groups of animals

must be kept

under

laboratory

conditions for extended

periods of time

and then exposed to

disease causing

organisms to determine

protection (blood

antibody

levels are also monitored but

this does not always

correlate with protection from

disease).

Because of

costs, this

time period was generally 1

year. Only

recently have studies

gone beyond 1 year but

frequently

involved only small

numbers of animals. In

addition, of

all the different vaccines

available, only a small

number

have

undergone any long term

testing. Some

vaccines

are thought to confer protection for a

number of

years

while others such

as those called bacterins

may only

protect for 6 months. To complicate matters further,

issues

such as the health of the

patient at the time of

vaccination,

the method of administration, and the

frequency

exposure to diseases

all combine to

affect the

duration of

expected protection from each vaccine

component.

isk

assessment means evaluating

each

patient

individually to

determine the appropriate vaccination

schedule

For some

pets this may

mean a 3-year schedule for

certain

components

such as

panleukopenia or distemper

, but for

others, yearly

vacc

inations

may

still

encouraged.

Remember, each pet, each vaccine, and each

situation must be evaluated on an individual

basis

those trained to do so. If you have

questions,

please

do not hesitate to discuss your

pets vaccine

requirements with his or her

health care providers.

View the current vaccine recommendations
for dogs at: canine vaccination guidelines
and cats at: feline vaccination guidelines

Attention
New flea products are on the horizon to help in the war against those
pesky little blood suckers. Please check back as we update our site,
and remember, fleas don't just take your pets blood. More and more
diseases are being linked to them. Bartonella, the cause of cat
scratch disease, and Hemotropic Mycoplasma (previously
Hemobartonella), the cause of feline infectious anemia, are but two
of the more common and more serious organisms carried and spread
by fleas. Here in Georgia, protection is important year-around.

Cat Carrier hint
An easy, safe way to get
difficult cats into carriers:
Pull a pillowcase over the
cat and hold the top
closed while you set
him/her into the carrier.
The cat can easily get out
of the pillow case once
inside the carrier.

Coyote Alert
Rampant suburban development from the South to the
Northeast is driving coyotes out of their natural habitat and into
developed areas in record numbers. In addition to the loss of
habitat, a lack of predators and a prolific reproduction cycle all
contribute to the explosive increase in coyote numbers.
Coyotes are very adaptable to new environments. They can
alter feeding habits to take advantage of different food sources.
Pet food, garbage, gardens, road kill, rodents, and yes, pets, can
all attract coyotes to your neighborhood. Many residents in the
Decatur area and surrounding communities have spotted
coyotes and a few have even lost pets to them. Cats and small
dogs are easy prey for these very quick and efficient hunters.
Previously, many authorities have stated that humans are at low
risk of attack but that may be changing as coyotes become
more comfortable around us. In a span of 5 days in a town in
Southern California, coyotes prowling suburban
neighborhoods have attacked 3 children. All of the toddlers
were saved when adults chased the animals off. Some of our
clients have reported sighting coyotes in their front or back
yards in the middle of the day showing no apparent fear of
humans. Earlier in July, WSB news reported that a coyote had
to be captured after it began pestering children at a local bus
stop in the Briarcliff area.
Due to their wandering nature, animal control and the DNR may
not be able to respond to every coyote sighting. In fact, many
people believe we should just get used to living with them. It is
likely that they will not be going anywhere anytime soon. While
they may carry parasites and canine distemper, they do seem
less likely to carry rabies as compared to raccoons.
Contrary to popular belief, coyotes do not hunt only at dusk.
Pets (and children) may be at risk at any time of day or night.
Your best defense is to keep pets indoors and allow only
supervised outdoor visits.
For more information:
http://www.aphis.usda.gov/lpa/pubs/fsheet_faq_notice/fs_wscoyote.html

Employees were stunned to see a coyote walk
into a downtown Chicago Quiznos sandwich
shop, and sit down in a juice and soda cooler
on Tuesday, Apr. 3, 2007.

This coyote was trapped in Dekalb County

Items of interest:
Corneal Transplant At Iowa State University
Veterinarians at Iowa State have performed the first successful corneal transplant in a dog in the USA. Plastic
implants from a German manufacturer were used. The corneas are functional but peripheral vision is slightly impaired.
*******
Atherosclerosis in Dogs
Atherosclerosis is a leading cause of cardiovascular disease in people. Until recently, it was not believed to be a big
problem for our pet population. That information may be changing. Studies of dogs with diseases such as diabetes,
hypothyroidism, and cushings (an adrenal disorder) have identified evidence of atherosclerosis in coronary vessels. The
importance of this finding is still being investigated.
*******
Advisory:
Xylitol, a sugar-free sweetener commonly found in candy and gum, can quickly cause low blood sugar, impaired muscle
coordination, liver damage, and seizures in dogs. Clients should be sure to keep these sugar-free products out of the
reach of pets.