Canine Vaccines

Question 1

What is “high risk”?

Answer 1

a subjective assessment: refers to CDV & CPV particularly and in instances where these two viruses are considered to exist at high levels in the environment or pups have exposure to dogs who live in contaminated environments. May include situations where vaccine status or disease status of dog populations is unknown.

Question 2

Core vs. non- core definition

Answer 2

• Core vaccine: recommended for all dogs irrespective of lifestyle.
• Non-core vaccine: given selectively based on assessment of risk-to- benefit ratio or risk factors, e.g. risk of exposure to disease, geographic environment that dog lives in

Question 3

Licensed canine vaccines safety profile

Answer 3

high degree of proven safety & efficacy

Question 4

Vaccine efficacy; when is it assessed and what is it? what is it needed for?

Answer 4

is assessed during product development – a measure of proportionate reduction of disease in vaccinated groups compared with unvaccinated groups.

-is needed for purpose of licensing and often done in controlled settings.

Question 5

Vaccine effectiveness; what is it?

Answer 5

is the population impact of the vaccine in the real world – difficult to track, trace and quantify in veterinary medicine – lack of robust monitoring & surveillance systems

Question 6

are vaccine failures common

Answer 6

no, rare

Question 7

Reasons for failure include:

who needs to know?

Answer 7

• Failure of individual to mount an adequate immune response
• Interference of maternal antibodies
• Improper storage or handling of vaccine, or
  inappropriate administration
• Waning immunity (e.g. patient’s age)
• Vaccine manufacture errors or expiration of vaccine
  **must report vaccine failures to manufacturer*

Question 8

Categories/types of canine vaccines:

Answer 8

attenuated
inactivated
recombinant

Question 9

what is an attenuated vaccine?

Answer 9

aka Modified Live, Live attenuated, Live.

Long duration of immunity, induces both cellular & humoral immunity, certain vaccines may have a transient period of viral shedding of the attenuated virus. Careful storage & admin needed. More likely to prevent both infection & disease. E.g. all parvo virus vaccines

Question 10

what is an inactivated vaccine?

Answer 10

aka killed.
Stable products, less immunogenic with shorter duration of immunity than attenuated vaccines, may be more assoc with adverse reactions, may not protect against infection but will protect against disease e.g. canine rabies vaccine

Question 11

what is a recombinant vaccine?

Answer 11

aka subunit, conjugate, polysaccharide
Uses a gene of the pathogen inserted into a virus or bacterial plasmid. E.g. some Lyme ds vaccines

Question 12

So, what are the core vaccines? how are they commonly given?

Answer 12

• Canine Distemper Virus (CDV)
• (+) Canine Parvovirus (CPV)
• (+) Canine Adenovirus-2 (CAV2)
• (+/-) Parainfluenza Virus (CPIV)
  *rabies, sometimes (talk about this one separately)
• CDV + CPV + CAV2 frequently all come as a multivalent or combination vaccine (all 3 in one vial/syringe) and given via subcutaneous (SC) route (parenteral route)
• CPIV given by intranasal (IN) may provide better protection than SC route. *you may see a 4 in 1 vaccine that includes CPIV and is labeled to be given as an SC vaccine (abbreviation=DA2PPV)

Question 13

Timing for CDV, CPV, CAV2, CPIV: at what age
and how
many
vaccines to
give?

Answer 13

CDV + CPV + CAV2 +/- CPIV combination vaccine: if less than or at 16 weeks old, give at least 3 doses which are 2- 4 weeks apart e.g., first dose @ 10-12 weeks, second @ 12-14 weeks, third @ 16-18 weeks (recall: MDAs!)

If more than 16 weeks of age, recommend 2 doses, 2-4 weeks apart e.g. first @ 17 weeks, second @ 19 or 21 weeks

Booster: give a single dose of a combination vaccine within 1 year following last dose in the puppy protocol (e.g., age of last pup vax + add 11months = age of next vax)

Give subsequent doses at intervals of 3 years. **for MLV & recombinant type vaccines & registered for triannual use

Question 14

is rabies required? what options are available and how is it given?

Answer 14

• Some states and provinces in North America do not have a rabies vaccination requirement/law in place for dogs & cats – nevertheless, rabies vaccination is recommended as a core vaccine
• Required in Ontario
• 1-yr or 3-yr labelled vaccines are available
• Some states, provinces and jurisdictions do not recognize a 3-yr labelled rabies vaccine, in which case, a 1-yr labelled vaccine must be given
• Either SC or intramuscular (IM) route only – each vaccine will specify route of delivery on its packaging
• No published data to support the efficacy of ‘half doses’ of rabies vaccines

Question 15

Timing for rabies vax: at what age
and how
many
vaccines to
give?

Answer 15

Rabies virus: 1-yr & 3-yr labelled vaccines available, all vaccines are inactivated (killed)

First vaccine at 12 weeks of age or older

Booster is given 1 year following the initial vaccination regardless of the age when first vaccinated

Subsequent doses: depends on if you use a 1-yr or 3-yr labelled rabies vaccine

Question 16

what is the use of the lepto vaccine?

Answer 16

non core

• Leptospira (4 serovars: canicola; icterohaemorrhagiae; grippotyphosa; pomona)
• Given via SC route
• Very little cross protection among serovars, therefore a 4-serovar leptospirosis vaccine is recommended over a 2-serovar vaccine
• 4-serovar vaccine available as a combo 4-in-1 vaccine for lepto only OR in combination with core vaccines (multivalent vaccine)
• Determine if your patient is at risk: suburban or rural environments with exposure to wildlife or soil contaminated with their urine; contact with rodents or their urine; outdoor or working activities; exposure to livestock; activities in rivers, lakes or streams; flooding

Question 17

Timing lepto vaccine: at what age
and how many vaccines to give?

Answer 17

Leptospira (4-serovar)
If <16 weeks old, give two doses of
vaccine given 2-4 weeks apart

If > 16 weeks of age, also give two doses of vaccine 2-4 weeks apart.

Single booster dose within 1 year following the last dose in initial series. Subsequent boosters are given annually.

Question 18

whats the info on lyme vaccine? when is it appropriate?

Answer 18

non core

• Borrelia burgdorferi (canine Lyme disease)
• Give via SC route only
• Only give where there is risk or exposure or if risk is sustained e.g. dog travelling into Lyme disease endemic areas from non-endemic areas. What about a tick prevention strategy?