Are Vaccines As Harmful
To Pets As They Are To Our Children?
Although PAVE's focus
is on human vaccines, we do agree that animal vaccines can cause
serious adverse effects in animals. Check out the links and following
information below to find information on animal vaccines.
Vaccine manufacturers warn, in their
data sheets, that the following factors can render vaccines harmful
(they use the phrase, "immunocompetence may be compromised"
):
1. if the dog is genetically defective
2. if there is something wrong with the dog's diet
3. if the dog was unhealthy when vaccinated
4. if the dog is stressed at time of injection
5. if the dog's immune system is incompetent
6. if the dog is exposed to a virus shortly after vaccination
7. if the dog is taking immune suppressant drugs such as steroids
8. if the vet stores and handles the vaccine inappropriately
9. if the dog is incubating disease at the time of vaccination
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/jstsayno2vaccs
jstsayno2vaccs-subscribe@yahoogroups.com
http://www.shirleys-wellness-cafe.com/overview.htm
Catherine O'Driscoll's book called "What Vets Don't Tell
You about Vaccines"
Kensington Veterinary Hospital
3817 Adams Avenue San Diego, CA 92116 (619) 584-8616
http://www.gothere.com/AdamsAve/3817/3817b.htm
Cyberpet
http://cyberpet.com/cyberdog/articles/health/vaccin.htm
Homeopathic doctor
http://www.naturalholistic.com/handouts/hpmaster.htm
Vaccination in Animals
© 1996, International Vaccination Newsletter
http://www.healthy.net/library/articles/ivn/animals.htm
Oxford Centre For Animals Ethics
Pioneering ethical perspectives on animals through academic research, teaching and publication.
OT: Lab Tests Again Find Acetaminophen in Pet Food
Lab Tests Again Find Acetaminophen in Pet Food
Dr.
Charles Loops, DVM
Holistic Veterinarian
Vaccination Newsflash: Crossposting
from: Dr. Ihor Basko
VACCINATION NEWSFLASH Re: J Dodd's vaccine protocol
I would like to make you aware that all 27 veterinary schools
in North America are in the process of changing their protocols
for vaccinating dogs and cats. Some of this information will present
an ethical & economic challenge to vets, and there will be
sceptics. Some organizations have come up with a political compromise
suggesting vaccinations every 3 years to appease those who fear
loss of income vs those concerned about potential side effects.
Politics, traditions, or the doctor's economic well-being should
not be a factor in medical decision.
NEW PRINCIPLES OF IMMUNOLOGY "Dogs and cats immune systems
mature fully at 6 months. If a modified live virus vaccine is
given after 6 months of age, it produces immunity, which is good
for the life of the pet (ie: canine distemper, parvo, feline distemper).
If another MLV vaccine is given a year later, the antibodies from
the first vaccine neutralize the antigens of the second vaccine
and there is little or no effect. The titer is not "boosted"
nor are more memory cells induced. "Not only are annual boosters
for parvo and distemper unnecessary, they subject the pet to potential
risks of allergic reactions and immune-mediated haemolytic anaemia.
"There is no scientific documentation to back up label claims
for annual administration of MLV vaccines "Puppies receive
antibodies through their mothers milk. This natural protection
can last 8-14 weeks. Puppies & kittens should NOT be vaccinated
at LESS than 8 weeks. Maternal immunity will neutralize the vaccine
and little protection (0-38%) will be produced. Vaccination at
6 weeks will, however, delay the timing of the first highly effective
vaccine. Vaccinations given 2 weeks apart suppress rather than
stimulate the immune system. A series of vaccinations is given
starting at 8 weeks and given 3-4 weeks apart up to 16 weeks of
age. Another vaccination given sometime after 6 months of age
(usually at 1 year 4 mo) will provide lifetime immunity."
Giant Regards, Deb Stover G.I.A.N.T. Schnauzer Rescue Network.
Contributed to the Sheltie Classifieds by Sharonmarie Jansen
and Lourie Gregory.
Thank you both!
Spare Fido The Shots
Page 180 January 2003 Reader's Digest
If you dutifully take your dog or cat for yearly shots, you
may be overprotecting him, and could be causing harm. Recent studies
have linked excessive vaccines to a range of problems: from allergies
to cancer between the shoulders (where shots are given).
"Most vaccines last at least three years, and giving them
too often can cause reactions", says Ron Schultz, a University
of
Wisconsin vaccine specialist. Many vets have already cut back
to every three years for rabies, distemper, and parvovirus in
dogs and panleukopenia in cats. If you feel your pet is overvaccinated,
talk to your vet about customizing a plan.
Host of "The Pet Stop" on News 12 New Jersey, Voynick
says excessive vaccinations in adult dogs and cats "may tip
the immune system over the edge and thus make pets more prone
to skin conditions, allergies, tumors in cats and someimmune mediated
diseases. In mature dogs and cats, Voynick suggests blood testing
for vaccinal titers (levels of protection).
I work against
animal testing for drugs and vaccines in the Research and Investigations
department at PETA. I am a Harvard- and Cambridge-educated molecular
biologist.Unfortunately,
PETA does not have ready-made literature specifically addressing
vaccines.
Animals are used/abused
in the production and testing of vaccines. I only recently learned
the extent of this testing myself: vaccine quality control testing
accounts for 10% of all biomedical research on animals, an estimated
10 million
animals/year. This is because, unlike drugs, animal testing is
required not only for the licensing of a vaccine, but for
every batch of vaccine, so the numbers of animals killed is massive.
Furthermore, testing
of vaccines on animals accounts for a very significant portion
of the unrelieved pain & suffering experienced by animals
in labs. For example, 17% of animals used in Netherlands for vaccine
testing experience "severe pain & distress". Pain
relief is withheld because it is believed to interfere with the
results of testing. The worst suffering is usually inflicted when
they give a disease to "control" animals who have not
received the vaccine being
tested. These animals will almost definitely develop the disease
and die painful drawn-out deaths from the disease.
Experimenters almost never euthanize them even when it's clear
that they are dying and in pain. Even in the group of animals
who receive the vaccine, only 80% must live for the vaccine to
be considered adequately protective.
I was recently
at a conference on alternatives to testing vaccines in animals,
where scientists openly acknowledged that many animal vaccine
tests are of terribly bad quality (they don't predict well) and
they would never be approved today. They are only in use because
they have already been used for so long. We need to force the
government to change its regulations, for our health as well as
the animals.
And there are
alternatives. Nobody is saying "just stop testing vaccines".
But we don't need to make animals sick to prove that a vaccine
works. Instead, we can measure the active ingredient in the vaccine
directly. If you know what component of the vaccine will cause
a protective immune response in humans, then just measure how
much of that
component is present in the vaccine to ensure that you have the
right amount of the right stuff. Another thing that
people can do if they don't quite understand what the active ingredient
in the vaccine is, is give the vaccine to the animal and measure
its immune response. If it develops antibodies against the vaccine,
that should be good enough. You shouldn't need to go that extra
painful step and give animals a deadly disease to prove that the
immune response has been activated.
Animal testing of vaccines is not only extremely cruel and unnecessary,
but affects the quality of the vaccine, since a poor quality test
means that bad vaccine gets through to the public. And testing
products for humans on animals is always a poor quality test because
animals are so different from us. Whatever happens in animals
doesn't mean that
it's going to be safe for humans.
As an example,
a virulent rabies virus vaccine was recalled recently -- this batch
of vaccines had been through the
federally required animal testing, but still contained live non-inactivated
virus that was not detected by the animal test. The lot was not
distributed, but if it were, it would likely have given people
rabies! The animal test for rabies is called the "NIH test"
and was especially despised by scientists at the conference I
attended, for its poor
predictiveness. Not to mention the cruelty of injecting rabies
directly into a mouse's brain, which is never how anyone gets
rabies!
Here are some
websites:
http://www.vetmed.ucdavis.edu/Animal_Alternatives/vaccines.htm
Sadhana Dhruvakumar
Sr. Scientific Research Specialist
Research & Investigations Dept.
People For The Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA)
Lincoln County
News July 22, 2004
Sen. Hall Pushes for Full Disclosure on Pet Vaccines
by Kay Liss
The canine rabies overvaccination issue has taken on a new
aspect recently with State Senator Chris Hall's advocacy that
full disclosure information on vaccines be provided to pet owners.
The Bristol Democrat says he hopes to introduce such a bill in
the upcoming legislative session.
Hall has been following the issue, which first arose in May
in Lincoln County when an Alna couple drew attention to the confusing
state law governing canine rabies vaccinations. Since then, state
lawmakers from the Bureau of Health have sent out clarification
letters to veterinarians in the state and also convened a task
force to study changing the language of the law.
Confusion has arisen as a result of two seemingly conflicting
components of the law, 10-144, Chapter 260, one which says canine
rabies vaccines are good for three years and another that requires
proof of a rabies booster vaccine within two years to obtain a
dog license. Vets have been routinely sending out reminders on
a two-year basis.
National veterinarian organizations, as well as manufacturers
of canine rabies vaccines, recommend they be given no more than
every three years. Maine is one of the few states that routinely
administers them on a two-year cycle.
While state officials are finalizing the rewriting of the
law to conform clearly with national recommendations, readying
it for public review in the fall, they have also been receiving
feedback from the letter they sent out, indicating continued confusion
by vets as to how often to vaccinate dogs for rabies. This confusion
has led to Deputy Director of the Bureau of Health Dr. Phillip
W. Haines, State Veterinarian Dr. Robert Gholson and State Epidemiologist
Dr. Kathleen Gensheimer agreeing to send out a second letter attempting
again to clarify the issue.
The Alna family, Peter and Kris Christine, and other citizens
have raised additional concerns over the possible over-vaccination
for other diseases, in particular distemper, parvovirus and hepatitis.
This combined booster shot is routinely given every year. Last
year, an American Animal Hospital Association task force recommended
the shot be given no more than every three years. Some studies
have determined this shot is actually good for up to seven years.
Some studies have also linked excessive vaccination of this and
rabies to various immune disorder problems, and in the case of
rabies vaccines, even to cancer.
The Christines first began looking into the issue when their
Labrador retriever had developed a cancerous tumor on the site
of a recent rabies immunization, which they, as most other Maine
dog owners, had been getting for him every two years.
In an op-ed piece published in the Portland Press Herald on
July 16, Hall says "Too many veterinary practices are financially
dependent upon annual vaccinations....over thousands of animals,
this regular stream of vaccination income forms the foundation
of many veterinarian practices...Either because of this, or out
of professional conservatism, there is resistance to the medical
evidence favoring reduced frequency of vaccination."
He points out that there are vets who have adopted the less-frequent
standard, but there are still those who continue to recommend
an annual DHLP-PV shot. He goes on to say that a more informed
public could make better decisions for pets, thus his advocacy
of a disclosure statement by veterinarians about "the risks,
potential side effects and nationally recommended frequency of
booster shots," in the same manner pharmacists are required
to give out such information for prescription drugs.
Hall concludes by adding that annual check-ups are important
for pets, and that tit is important to move from a "vaccines-based
model to a check-up based model" for animal care. "Full
disclosure will mean that the market...moves veterinarians away
from automatic annual vaccinations towards a more thoughtful and
cautious approach to preventative medicine in which the pet's
owner is a full partner."
"The last thing I want to do," Hall said in a recent
interview, "is impose another complex set of regulations.
That's why I think disclosing the best information to pet owners
is the best way to approach this."
http://www.earthclinic.com/Pets/vaccination_side_effects.html
Please let us know about any side effects you have witnessed after your
pet's vaccination or booster shot. We'd like to know the name of the
breed of your pet and also which vaccinations he or she received. Once
we gather more information around this subject, we can assess whether
first-time vaccinations or follow-up booster shots are responsible for
causing deadly complications in certain
breeds of dogs and cats. As of
December 1, 2008,
over 315 people have reported side effects from pet vaccinations!
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