Posts Tagged ‘ side effects ’

Yorkie Encephalitis: Muffin’s Vaccine Reaction

August 11, 2012

Muffin

Muffin was a healthy, happy little 1 1/2  year old pup who was full of life and enthusiasm, always off  on some adventure, and ready to play whenever anyone would give her the time of day.   She was very loving and affectionate, but quite the little explorer, and very independent.   She was known then, in her puppy training classes, as Miss Muffin.  Very bright, loving and full of the devil, she was always getting into mischief.

 
When my mom passed away 2 1/2 years ago, we needed to go back east for the funeral.  Although I wanted to take the girls with me, my family felt it would be better if they did not come, so I looked around for the most trust worthy sitter I could find to care for my two precious babies while I was gone.  Who better than my local Vet?  She boarded pets, I knew, and I trusted her completely, as she had been my vet for many years previously when my baby Merlin was still with me.  He too was a very tiny yorkie, so I felt completely safe leaving them.  They told me Muffin needed a rabies shot and they would take care of it while I was gone.  “No biggie,” I thought. Foolish Me!!! 

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Vaccine Reactions: Underreported and Unrecognized, Not Unimportant

July 16, 2012

Dr. James R. Shannon, former Director of the US National Institute of Health, has been widely quoted as saying: “The only safe vaccine is one that is never used.” 

But are adverse vaccine reactions really a big deal? Aren’t they just the “fever and fatigue” we’re warned about after yearly shots? Or is there more to learn?

And aren’t moderate and severe adverse reactions rare? Let’s answer this question first.

Reactions are considered rare, in part, because reporting is rare. Unlike reporting for human vaccine reactions, required by the National Vaccine Injury Act of 1986, reporting is voluntary for reactions experienced by animals. Furthermore, there is no federal Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS) for animals as there is for humans, nor is there a National Vaccine Injury Compensation Program (VICP). That does not mean that adverse events aren’t a serious a problem for animals. In fact, because animals are given numerous vaccines repeatedly (and unnecessarily) throughout their lives, rather than just in childhood, the problem is likely worse.

WSAVA Vaccination Group Guidelines (p. 18) recognizes that there is “gross under-reporting of vaccine-associated adverse events which impedes knowledge of the ongoing safety of these products.”  AAHA (p. 19) says, “Although AE [adverse event] documentation in veterinary medicine is limited, severe adverse reactions are considered uncommon.” But if reporting is rare, how do they know?

Perhaps the biggest problem in underreporting is the failure to match an illness or problem to a vaccine. Read more »

Clinical Approaches to Managing and Treating Adverse Vaccine Reactions by W. Jean Dodds, DVM

June 29, 2012

by W. Jean Dodds, DVM

Background There is no doubt that application of modern vaccine technology has permitted us to protect companion animals effectively against serious infectious diseases.

Viral disease and recent vaccination with single or combination modified live-virus (MLV) vaccines, especially those containing distemper virus, adenovirus 1 or 2, and parvovirus are increasingly recognized contributors, albeit relatively rare,  to immune-mediated blood disease, bone marrow failure, and organ dysfunction. Potent adjuvanted killed vaccines like those for rabies virus also can trigger immediate and delayed (vaccinosis) adverse vaccine reactions. Genetic predisposition to these disorders in humans has been linked to the leucocyte antigen D-related gene locus of the major histocompatibility complex, and is likely to have parallel associations in domestic animals.

It must be recognized, however, that we have the luxury of asking such questions today only because the risk of disease has been effectively reduced by the widespread use of vaccination programs.

Adverse Events Associated with Vaccination The clinical signs associated with vaccine reactions typically include fever, stiffness, sore joints and abdominal tenderness, susceptibility to infections, neurological disorders and encephalitis, collapse with autoagglutinated red blood cells and icterus (autoimmune hemolytic anemia, AIHA, also called immune-mediated hemolytic anemia, IMHA), or generalized petechiae and ecchymotic  hemorrhages (immune-mediated thrombocytopenia , ITP).  Hepatic enzymes may be markedly elevated, and liver or kidney failure may occur by itself or accompany bone marrow suppression.

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Treating Adverse Vaccine Reactions by W. Jean Dodds, DVM

June 14, 2012

CLINICAL APPROACHES TO MANAGING AND TREATING ADVERSE VACCINE REACTIONS 

 Background There is no doubt that application of modern vaccine technology has permitted us to protect companion animals effectively against serious infectious diseases.

Viral disease and recent vaccination with single or combination modified live-virus (MLV) vaccines, especially those containing distemper virus, adenovirus 1 or 2, and parvovirus are increasingly recognized contributors, albeit relatively rare,  to immune-mediated blood disease, bone marrow failure, and organ dysfunction. Potent adjuvanted killed vaccines like those for rabies virus also can trigger immediate and delayed (vaccinosis) adverse vaccine reactions. Genetic predisposition to these disorders in humans has been linked to the leucocyte antigen D-related gene locus of the major histocompatibility complex, and is likely to have parallel associations in domestic animals.

It must be recognized, however, that we have the luxury of asking such questions today only because the risk of disease has been effectively reduced by the widespread use of vaccination programs.

Adverse Events Associated with Vaccination The clinical signs associated with vaccine reactions typically include fever, stiffness, sore joints and abdominal tenderness, susceptibility to infections, neurological disorders and encephalitis, collapse with autoagglutinated red blood cells and icterus (autoimmune hemolytic anemia, AIHA, also called immune-mediated hemolytic anemia, IMHA), or generalized petechiae and ecchymotic  hemorrhages (immune-mediated thrombocytopenia , ITP).  Hepatic enzymes may be markedly elevated, and liver or kidney failure may occur by itself or accompany bone marrow suppression.

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Preventing Vaccine Adverse Effects for Pets and People

May 25, 2012

By Jean Hofve, DVM

For our pets, the rabies vaccine is a legal requirement. There are similar requirements for a variety of vaccines for children entering school. Officials even considered making the swine flu mandatory for U.S. residents, though this threat has not yet manifested.” Here are suggestions on how to prevent the potentially deadly adverse effects of vaccination. Plan ahead, and be prepared! (For a 1-page summary that you can copy and paste to make for easy printing, click here.)

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