Posted by Noofies on 1/6/2005, 5:07 pm One of the incidental findings of Phase III of the study titled "Vaccinosis in Great Danes" performed at Purdue bears out what many of us have been saying all along - that dogs not vaccinated for parvo will still immunize from exposure to the vaccine antigen (or the wild virus) present in the environment. (Note: Partially vaccinated = puppy series only. Fully vaccinated = Puppy series and routine boosters.)
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have antibody titers as high as (or higher than) dogs which have been routinely or sporadically vaccinated. The dogs in this study were divided into three vaccine groups (never vaccinated, partially vaccinated, and fully vaccinated) based on owner reports. Therefore, it was important to document the validity of these reports. This was done by measuring the antibody titer against distemper, parvovirus, and rabies, and comparing them with the owners’ answer to the question “How frequently and when was your dog vaccinated against distemper, parvovirus, and rabies?” A very significant and strong correlation was found between the owners’ responses regarding the pattern of administration of distemper vaccine and the distemper antibody titer. A similarly strong relationship was found for rabies. However, there was no clear-cut relationship between the parvovirus vaccine history and antibody titers to parvovirus. In fact, the parvovirus antibody titers of dogs belonging to owners who said they fully vaccinated or only sporadically vaccinated their dog for parvovirus were not significantly different from dogs belonging to owners who claimed they had never vaccinated their dog against parvovirus. The findings with regard to rabies and distemper antibody titers support the validity of the owners’ answers on the questionnaire. It is not surprising however, that many dogs unvaccinated for parvovirus based on owners’ reports had antibody titers as high or higher against parvovirus than dogs that were reported to have been vaccinated against parvovirus either regularly or sporadically. Parvovirus is commonly shed in dog feces (either the vaccine or natural strain) and contaminates the environment of parks, homes, kennels, etc. Once in the environment it is highly resistant to a wide range of climatic conditions and is readily transmitted from dog to dog, by fecal oral contact. In contrast, distemper and rabies virus are not stable in the environment and transmission from dog to dog requires closer contact between individuals.
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