Vaccinations, vaccinations, vaccinations!

One of the most common things I saw in the vets consult room on work experience was vaccinations being carried out in dogs, cats and rabbits. So I thought I'd post on here for my own personal recollection and for anyone who doesn't really know where to start with vaccinations some basic information on what a vaccine is, why it is needed and what diseases domestic species should be vaccinated against.

In simple terms, a vaccine is used to build up immunity to a particular disease and stimulates the body to create antibodies which the immune system then remembers and can use to fight off the disease if it encounters the body again. Most vaccines contain either a weakened strain of the disease or a dead strain of the disease that is injected just below the skin to stimulate an immune system response and start the production of antibodies. Booster vaccinations are then given routinely to remind the body how to defend itself in case of pathogen attack!

The common canine is vaccinated against the following at 8 weeks old and then again at 10 weeks with boosters needed annually otherwise the puppy course of vaccinations must be started again:

• Distemper
• Parainfluenza
• Hepatitis
• Leptospirosis
• Parvovirus

 If the dog is going to be in kennels it is also advisable to get it vaccinated against kennel cough, which instead of an injection is administered as a squirt of liquid up the nose and is something that dogs generally do not find pleasant but it is worthwhile to get done to prevent from a longer term source of coughing and sneezing. If taking the dog abroad it will also need a rabies vaccination.

Felines are vaccinated at 9 weeks with a booster at 12 weeks against the following with annual boosters:

• Feline Calicivirus
• Feline Infectious Enteritis
• Feline Rhinotrachetis (Cat flu)
• Feline Leukaemia virus
• Chlamydophila

The Feline Leukaemia virus injection should be given by the vet in one of the back legs as the FeLV vaccine has been known in the past to cause tumours called sarcomas however this is a very rare side effect with the risk associated with the vaccine being minimal in comparison to the problems caused if the cat were actually infected by the virus and not immunised.

Rabbits are only vaccinated against two diseases annually:

• Myxomatosis which can be caught from contact with fleas off of wild rabbits
• Viral Haemorrhagic Disease

Horses can be vaccinated against at the age of 5 months, with annual boosters:

• Tetanus
• Equine Influenza
• Equine Herpes Virus

A herd of cattle should be vaccinated against:

• Brucellosis
• Bovine Viral Diarrhea
• Infectious Bovine Rhinotrachetis
• Leptospirosis
• Pasteurellosis
• Bovine parainfluenza 

As you can see there is a wide range of disease out there that could potentially prove fatal to your pet should you fail to get them vaccinated, therefore it's always worth making the trip to the vets and keeping up to date with boosters to make sure your pet stays protected and their future health safe guarded!

Image 1: http://luckydoguk.wordpress.com/
Image 2: http://www.mayfairvet.com/our_services/vaccinations