UK Media Mum on Vet Pleas to End Annual Vaccinations

I am not necessarily a conspiracy theorist when it comes to newspapers. Yet there are occasions when news does not accurately reflect what's going on. For example, after concerned pet owners from all over the country besieged Bell County commissioners with letters advocating an extended interval for rabies vaccine, the commissioners convened a meeting with limited public notice and the Temple Daily Telegram reported on it but did not post to its online edition. Makes you go hmmm.

Apparently, according to Catherine O'Driscoll, author and founder of Canine Health Concern, this is a global phenomenon.

Last month, 33 veterinarians and medical doctors from around the world signed a letter to the press. They were calling for an end to annual vaccination. When they sign such a letter, professionals risk censure from their professional organisations, which could end their careers.

Other vets told us they wanted to sign the letter, but feared for their businesses, or they feared ‘upsetting’ their veterinary colleagues. The last time a group of vets got together to sign a similar letter, which appeared in Veterinary Times, they were threatened with being struck off. To see the letter:

http://myweb.tiscali.co.uk/k9health/wwwchc/Catherine/International press letter.pdf

Over a hundred pet owners signed another letter. Many signed because their dogs had died or become ill following an unnecessary vaccine booster. To see the letter:

http://myweb.tiscali.co.uk/k9health/wwwchc/Catherine/letter from dog owners.pdf

A covering press release summarises the issues:

http://myweb.tiscali.co.uk/k9health/wwwchc/Catherine/Press release 2009.pdf

Although it was sent to national newspapers, TV and radio, no-one published it. And yet don’t you think it’s scandalous that pet owners are being encouraged to vaccinate their pets when it’s not necessary? It’s not just that pet owners are being asked to spend money unnecessarily.

The real shame is that pets can have reactions to their vaccines – anything from allergies to skin problems to autoimmune diseases to cancer to death.

How well we know, Catherine.

Hat Tip: Dr. Kim Bloomer, Bark N Blog

STATUS: Bell County Stealth Policy-Making

Bell County Commissioners took note of public advocacy for extending the rabies prevention and control protocol to three years. Then they held their next policy discussion meeting on June 23, 2009 outside public view. The only public notice of it was posted at the Bell County Commissioner's Court.

Dr. Szeremi of the Killeen Animal Advisory Board, who initiated this policy review on behalf of the City of Killeen, was not invited. None of the national proponents for aligning the county protocol with national and state guidelines were notified. None of the Texas advocates were aware of the meeting date or agenda.

Only one Bell County pet owner who specifically requested of the County Commissioner's Office to be notified of any meeting discussing rabies was in attendance.

Regarding the Bell County, TX, rabies situation, I attended the county commissioners workshop on the rabies issue Tuesday, June 23.=2 0There was the county judge and three commissioners (one commissioner absent), one vet from Fort Hood area who was representing the area vets (for one-year vaccination, of course), and me who tried to represent dogs and dog owners, though I am in no way persuasive or a good speaker. They let the vet and me sit at the big table with them and give our positions. There was a reporter there, and an article that was fair appeared in the Temple Daily Telegram the next day. The article apparently is not available in the on-line archives of the Telegram.

Scant public notice. Limited local news coverage. Not a single word about rabies prevention and control in the County Commissioner's Court Archives. Those good old boys better be careful. Someone might get the idea they have something to hide.

We are currently besieging the Bell County Commissioner's office to request notification of meeting dates before any further discussion of this issue takes place.

Public policy made in stealth mode can't be good for the public and spells trouble for companion animals in Bell County.

JUST SAY NO: INDIANA Rabies Law, Delaware County

Kris Christine weighs in this morning with a call to action for dog and cat lovers on potentially regressive rabies laws in Delaware County, Indiana. The State of Indiana rabies prevention and control guidelines extend the interval of rabies booster shots to three years. The county wants to roll back the clock - making annual rabies vaccine compulsory in order to ensure that all dogs get city licenses yearly.

Bad medicine and tax money - we've danced this dance before; we need not do so again.

The American Veterinary Medical Association, the American Association of Feline Practitioners, the American Animal Hospital Association, immunologists and clinicians in 22 veterinary medical schools in North America agree that there is no medical benefit to redundant rabies vaccination.

The practice of tying the purchase of an unnecessary medical procedure to a county license may violate consumer protection laws - it requires consumers to purchase a product with no benefit.

In addition to contacting the people Kris suggests below, contact the Indiana State and Delaware County Attorneys!

The Muncie Delaware Humane Society (Indiana) has submitted a proposal to the County Council and Commissioners which would include imposing a tax on dogs as well as changing the county's current 3 year rabies immunization protocol to one requiring a yearly rabies booster for all dogs and cats in order to obtain a license.

Below is a copy of my letter to the county officials on behalf of The Rabies Challenge Fund opposing the proposed revision to the rabies protocol.

What You Can Do

Contact the Delaware County Council and Commissioners (contact information below) and ask them to reject the portion of the Humane Society's proposal which would change the current 3 year rabies ordinance.

County Commissioners Telephone Number: (765) 747-7730 Fax: (765) 747-7899 Don Dunnuck ddunnuck@co. delaware. in.us
Todd Donati tdonati@co.delaware .in.us
Larry W. Bledsoe, Jr. lbledsoe@co. delaware. in.us County Council Fax: (765) 741-3422
Kevin Nemyer knemyer@aol. com (765) 286-0962
Bradley Bookout bradleybookout@ comcast.net (765) 808-1484
James King jdkingsr@comcst. net (765) 286-9065
Mary Chambers mcouncil3@sbcglobal .net (765) 289-8928
Ted Bowman (765) 789-4931 Ronald Quakenbush rqdlctydist2@ yahoo.com (765) 759-8461
Chris Matchett, President cmatchett@co. delaware. in.us (765) 759-4725; cell: 765-730-5987 June 24, 2009

Delaware County Council and Commissioners
100 West Main Street
Muncie, IN 47305

RE: Humane Society Proposed Ordinance Change Affecting Rabies Immunization Protocol for Dogs

Greetings Council Members and Commissioners

This letter is a follow-up to my Tuesday conversations with Councilors Bowman and Chambers regarding an ordinance proposed by the Muncie Delaware Humane Society which would impose a tax on dogs in addition to revising the county's 3 year rabies immunization ordinance to require annual rabies boosters for dogs and cats in order to obtain licenses.

Delaware County's current Animal Care & Control Ordinance, Chapter 12, Section 3-12-1, which declares, "Rabies vaccination shall mean the injection by a licensed veterinarian of a dog/cat with a rabies vaccine licensed by the USDA and approved by the Indiana State Department of Health..." conforms to the Indiana state rabies protocol (Rule 5 Rabies Immunization, 345 IAC 1-5-1 Rabies Vaccination) as well as the recommendations of the American Veterinary Medical Association [1] and the Center for Disease Control's National Association of State Public Health Veterinarian' s 2008 Compendium of Animal Rabies Prevention and Control advising that: "Vaccines used in state and local rabies control programs should have at least a 3-year duration of immunity.... .... No laboratory or epidemiologic data exist to support the annual or biennial administration of 3- or 4-year vaccines following the initial series."

A regressive ordinance revision requiring annual rabies boosters for dogs and cats is medically unnecessary and scientifically unfounded. According to the American Animal Hospital Association, "The minimum DOI [duration of immunity] for killed rabies vaccine based on challenge studies is 3 years; based on antibody titers, it is considered to be up to 7 years.." [2] More frequent vaccination than is required to fully immunize an animal will not achieve further disease protection. Redundant annual rabies shots needlessly expose dogs and cats to the risk of adverse effects while obligating residents to pay unnecessary veterinary medical fees, which could violate Indiana's consumer protection laws and obligate veterinarians to engage in unprofessional conduct (Code 25-1) by administering medically unwarranted rabies vaccines in order for their clients to comply with the amended ordinance.

The American Veterinary Medical Association' s 2001 Principles of Vaccination state that "Unnecessary stimulation of the immune system does not result in enhanced disease resistance, and may increase the risk of adverse post-vaccination events."

It is recognized that most, if not all, currently licensed annual rabies vaccines given annually are actually the 3-year vaccine relabeled for annual use -- Colorado State University's Small Animal Vaccination Protocol for its veterinary teaching hospital states: "Even with rabies vaccines, the label may be misleading in that a three year duration of immunity product may also be labeled and sold as a one year duration of immunity product." According to Dr. Ronald Schultz of the University of Wisconsin School of Veterinary Medicine, whose canine vaccine studies form a large part of the scientific base for the 2003 and 2006 American Animal Hospital Association' s (AAHA) Canine Vaccine Guidelines, as well as the World Small Animal Veterinary Association' s 2007 Vaccine Guidelines, "There is no benefit from annual rabies vaccination and most one year rabies products are similar or identical to the 3-year products with regard to duration of immunity and effectiveness. " [3]

Immunologically, the rabies vaccine is the most potent of the veterinary vaccines and associated with significant adverse reactions such as polyneuropathy "resulting in muscular atrophy, inhibition or interruption of neuronal control of tissue and organ function, incoordination, and weakness," [4] auto-immune hemolytic anemia, [5] autoimmune diseases affecting the thyroid, joints, blood, eyes, skin, kidney, liver, bowel and central nervous system; anaphylactic shock; aggression; seizures; epilepsy; and fibrosarcomas at injection sites are all linked to the rabies vaccine. [6] [7] It is medically unsound for this vaccine to be given more often than is necessary to maintain immunity.

A "killed" vaccine, the rabies vaccine contains adjuvants to enhance the immunological response. In 1999, the World Health Organization "classified veterinary vaccine adjuvants as Class III/IV carcinogens with Class IV being the highest risk," [8] and the results of a study published in the August 2003 Journal of Veterinary Medicine documenting fibrosarcomas at the presumed injection sites of rabies vaccines stated, "In both dogs and cats, the development of necrotizing panniculitis at sites of rabies vaccine administration was first observed by Hendrick & Dunagan (1992)." [9] According to the 2003 AAHA Guidelines, "...killed vaccines are much more likely to cause hypersensitivity reactions (e.g., immune-mediated disease)." [10]

The Rabies Challenge Fund urges you to reject the portion of the Muncie Delaware Humane Society proposal which would amend Chapter 12 Section 3-12-1 of the Animal Care and Control Ordinance to require annual rabies vaccinations for dogs and cats. Sincerely,
Kris L. Christine
Founder, Co-Trustee
THE RABIES CHALLENGE FUND
www.RabiesChallenge Fund.org
cc: Dr. W. Jean Dodds Dr. Ronald Schultz
------------ --------- --------- --------- --------- --------- -
[1] American Veterinary Medical Association, 2007 RABIES VACCINATION PROCEDURES
[2] American Animal Hospital Association Canine Vaccine Task Force. 2003 Canine Vaccine Guidelines, Recommendations, and Supporting Literature, p.13
[3] Schultz, Ronald D.; What Everyone Needs to Know about Canine Vaccines, October 2007, http://www.puliclub .org/CHF/ AKC2007Conf/ What%20Everyone% 20Needs%20to% 20Know%20About% 20Canine% 20Vaccines. htm
[4]Dodds, W. Jean Vaccination Protocols for Dogs Predisposed to Vaccine Reactions, The Journal of the American Animal Hospital Association, May/June 2001, Vol. 37, pp. 211-214
[5] Duval D., Giger U.Vaccine-Associate d Immune-Mediated Hemolytic Anemia in the Dog, Journal of Veterinary Internal Medicine 1996; 10:290-295
[6] American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) Executive Board, April 2001, Principles of Vaccination, Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association, Volume 219, No. 5, September 1, 2001.
[7] Vascelleri, M. Fibrosarcomas at Presumed Sites of Injection in Dogs: Characteristics and Comparison with Non-vaccination Site Fibrosarcomas and Feline Post-vaccinal Fibrosarcomas; Journal of Veterinary Medicine, Series A August 2003, vol. 50, no. 6, pp. 286-291.
[8] IARC Monographs on the Evaluation of Carcinogenic Risks to Humans: Volume 74, World Health Organization, International Agency for Research on Cancer, Feb. 23-Mar. 2, 1999, p. 24, 305, 310.
[9] Vascelleri, M. Fibrosarcomas at Presumed Sites of Injection in Dogs: Characteristics and Comparison with Non-vaccination Site Fibrosarcomas and Feline Post-vaccinal Fibrosarcomas; Journal of Veterinary Medicine, Series A August 2003, vol. 50, no. 6, pp. 286-291.
[10] American Animal Hospital Association Canine Vaccine Task Force. 2003 Canine Vaccine Guidelines, Recommendations, and Supporting Literature, 28pp. and ibid. 2006 AAHA Canine Vaccine Guidelines, Revised, 28 pp.

PERMISSION TO CROSS-POST

Rabies Vaccinations - Why Less Is More

Yesterday, I exchanged emails with a reporter in Dothan, Alabama about coverage of confirmed rabies cases in Houston County in the raccoon population.

The author reported the admonition of a local public health offical to vaccinate pets against rabies; however, the article perpetuates the myth that annual rabies vaccination is both necessary and good, when it is anything but.

[Dothan, Alabama] Health officials are warning residents to stay alert and make sure their pets are vaccinated.

Public Health Environmentalist Keith Hicks said, "The health department advises children not to handle a stray pet or unwanted animal. We do like to ask residents to have their pets vaccinated each year."

That annual rabies vaccine helps to not only protect your pets, but also to create a barrier between you and rabid animals.

Hicks said, "Your pets act as a buffer between the wild and humans so it is important to have your animals vaccinated annually."

I get a little crazy when read these stories.

The whole point of mandatory vaccination of companion animals against rabies is to protect the public from rabies outbreaks by virtue of "herd immunity." In simple terms, the more domestic animals that are vaccinated, the lower the risk of rabies transmission from rabid coons, skunks and bats to dogs and cats and the safer their humans.

The proportion of vaccinated pets necessary for herd immunity can be quantified.

In a study of Transmission Dynamics and Prospects for the Elimination of Canine Rabies, researchers established a statistical model for herd immunity in eradicating rabies:

There were no rabies outbreaks (defined as at least two cases not interrupted by an interval of more than one month) in villages when vaccination coverage exceeded >70%. Small outbreaks occurred in villages with lower coverage and the largest (and longest) outbreaks only occurred in villages with <20%>

According to this study, a rabid dog will bite 2.5 other creatures. If three out of four of these is immune to rabies virus, the risks of transmission to the human population is reduced exponentially.

So isn't the total number of family pets that are vaccinated against rabies more significant than the number of rabies shots given to any one animal?

The veterinary professionals who write "the Bible" for rabies prevention and control laws think so.

According to the National Association of State Public Health Veterinarians (NASPHV), the most effective way to ensure compliance with rabies laws is to extend the interval to at least three years.

The Center for Disease Control’s National Association of State Public Health Veterinarian's (NASPHV) Compendium of Animal Rabies Prevention and Control 2008 states that, “Vaccines used in state and local rabies control programs should have at least a 3-year duration of immunity. This constitutes the most effective method of increasing the proportion of immunized dogs and cats in any population (50).” They specifically warn that, “[n]o laboratory or epidemiologic data exist to support the annual or biennial administration of 3- or 4-year vaccines following the initial series.” Also endorsing the NASPHV’s Rabies Compendium are the American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA)[1] and the American Animal Hospital Association (AAHA).

This suggests that at a certain point, stringent rabies laws are ineffective; for cost or personal reasons, people won't vaccinate their dogs and cats. It also states - without exception - that the practice of annual rabies shots has no medical basis.

Sadly, in 2009, we must protect our companion animals from public health officials who have not updated their knowledge of the subject since 1950.

Dog, Cat Under the Weather? Don't Vaccinate!

According to manufacturer's label directions, it is unwise to administer rabies or other vaccines when a dog or cat is ill, pregnant or stressed. Safety and efficacy are deciding factors. Adverse reactions are more likely and the potential for vaccine failure increases. Even a slight elevation in temperature can thwart a vaccine.

Most vets agree that certain animals should NOT be vaccinated (absent proven, urgent need such as inevitable exposure to a life-threatening disease). These include, but aren’t limited to, pets with autoimmune disease … pets undergoing chemo, radiation or surgery (even dental cleaning or neutering) … pets with autoimmune disease, cancer, severe allergies and skin diseases … pets fighting an illness or parasites … pets stressed from shipment or a move to a new home … malnourished pets … and dying housebound pets. Assaulting the immune systems of these animals with vaccination has been likened to throwing gas on a raging fire.

Author Jan Rasmusen, national award-winning author of Scared Poopless: The Straight Scoop on Dog Care and a host of veterinarians offer more insight.

Vaccinating Unhealthy Pets: Beware Reactions & Vaccine Failure

Read it