Over-vaccinating your pet could be harmful to their health as well as costing you money unnecessarily.

Pet vaccination
Over-vaccinating your pet could be harmful to their health as well as costing you money unnecessarily.
Updated:17 Aug 2010Author:Cecilia Lee: Member rating Add to favouritesView as single pageBookmark and shareBookmark and shareDeliciousFacebookTwitterGoogle bookmarksMSN live 01.Introduction
CHOICE has found that many pets may be getting vaccinated too often and unnecessarily by vets, with often grave ramifications. Despite international advice and new professional guidelines introduced last year, many adult cats and dogs are still receiving injections annually instead of the now recommended cycle of every three years.

Pet owners are not being told about the new guidelines on so-called core vaccines and many vets continue to recommend annual core vaccinations. The problem is compounded by the fact many of the labels on vaccines still state they can be used annually. The Australian regulator, the Australian Pesticides and Veterinary Medicines Authority (APVMA), is working with manufacturers to update this information.

There are many obstacles in the way of ensuring all Australian vets operate by the new guidelines. The veterinary profession is self-regulated and vets are not required to join the Australian Veterinary Association (AVA) or follow its guidelines. The AVA has about 6000 members, accounting for approximately 60% of the veterinary profession.

Some pet owners who have lost their pets have joined forces to raise awareness and lobby for changes to the system. Contents:
01Introduction
02Time line
03What should you do?
04Case studies Conflict of interest?
An industry survey found “89% of veterinarians indicated that dog and cat vaccinations were the number one contributor to practice turnover, and 91% of vets felt that a change from annual vaccination would have an adverse effect on their practice turnover”.

Vaccine manufacturers
Dr Richard Squires, an associate professor and Head of Veterinary Clinical Sciences at James Cook University, told CHOICE that vets may be reluctant to switch to triennial vaccinations because they’re closely following the manufacturers’ recommendations on the label. “To use vaccines in an off-label manner may lay the vet open to serious legal consequences if a vaccine used off-label failed to protect an animal.”

State and territory legislation allows vets to use vaccines at whatever interval they determine is best, provided they obtain informed consent from the pet owner, and they are under no obligation to follow recommendations on vaccine labels.

To approve the recommended revaccination interval on vaccine labels, the Australian Pesticides and Veterinary Medicines Authority (APVMA) requires DOI studies by vaccine manufacturers. However, manufacturers are only required to supply minimum DOI data, so the vaccine could provide immunity for a longer period than stated on the label. In its position statement released earlier this year, the APVMA says it does not support labels that direct or imply a universal need for life-long annual revaccinations with core vaccines, and it is currently working with vaccine manufacturers to update these labels