Vaccination the Debate :

The subject of vaccination is becoming a thorny and contentious issue among the general public and medical professionals for both animals and man. I am, in this article, going to present some views which may well be against conventional veterinary opinion. I would welcome well researched responses that can refute the theories outlined in here. I have not got much room to record all the reasoning behind these thought on this page but will refer you to other pages or references that give some backing to them.

I used to think that regular vaccination of pets was an essential method of prevention of disease in animals and man until I started to study Homeopathy a few years ago. Few homeopaths believe this however, and the more I looked into the problem the more evidence I found in literature and with my own eyes that vaccines could damage the animals they where supposed to protect. On so many occasions problems such as cystitis, skin disease, colitis and many of the other diseases increasingly seen in modern companion animals could be seen to flair up a month or so after the booster was given. This line of thought gets you thinking and looking into the subject in greater depth. These are some of the conclusions I have come to

“The practice of annual re-vaccination of dogs and cats is both unnecessary and indeed can be harmful”

Modern modified live vaccines used to protect our companions against diseases such as distemper, parvovirus, rabies and feline panleucopenia are very affective at producing immunity against these diseases. Once vaccinated at an age of 12 weeks or more then repetition of the vaccine is unnecessary. This is my belief and that of many other veterinarians including expert immunologists.(1)
Why does the doctor not call us back in to be re-vaccinated every year or so?

“Vaccines are one of the Major causes of Chronic disease in or companion animals”

Vaccines, in particular modern live attenuated varieties, have a massive affect on the immune system of the animal into which they are injected. They are in the main injected into the animal bypassing the normal routes of infection so that a massive quantity of virus reaches the system very rapidly. They are combined with unnatural substances such as preservatives and adjuvants ( to further stimulate the immune system) such as alum, thiomerosal and formalin. Some are carcinogens in their own right. Foreign proteins such as duck embryos are included. The effect of these immune stimulants is I believe largely responsible for the increase in autoimmune and immuno suppressive diseases seen in ourselves and our animals. The sort of diseases included myocardial hypertrophy, inflammatory bowel disease, thyroid gland problems and allergy. All these are now seen in unprecedented numbers in dogs and cats. All these things considered in the main I think it is probably more risky in the long term to vaccinate than to not vaccinate and have the risk of catching one of the acute diseases.

Some vaccines work a lot less well than suggested by the vaccine manufacturers. Ref. Ron Shultz (3) (4) (5)

If we are to use vaccines is best to minimise the amount we use, to only vaccinate against one disease at a time and not vaccinate before 12 weeks of age
In nature the animal would only normally come across one disease at a time and there is opinion (2) that the effect on the immune system would be to produce a better long lasting immunity to the disease involved and have a lower risk of causing problems to the immune system when compared to the modern multivalent vaccines used so often nowadays. The animal's immune system is considerably more mature by 12 weeks compared if given at 6 or 8 weeks as is becoming common. (2)

My suggestions if you decide to use regular vaccines are:

• Vaccinate pups for distemper only at 12 weeks or over age and then for parvo virus only at 16 weeks of age This is not possible in the UK so we vaccinate for Distemper, Adenovirus and Parvo at 12 and 16 weeks.
• Repeat once more at or above 6 months of age that is probably all they need for these diseases throughout life.
• Vaccinate kittens for panleucopenia at 12 weeks or over, once only. If required use a killed vaccine for flu and clamydia at a separate visit if the cat is young and at risk. Leave at least 4 weeks between vaccinations
• Whenever possible use homeopathic nosodes to protect against the following diseases in preference to vaccines:
  • Kennel cough
  • Leptospirosis
  • Feline Immunodeficency virus
  • Feline Peritonitis
  • Feline Leukaemia
  • Cat 'flu
• Use killed vaccines whenever possible

The reasoning behind these recommendations is that distemper, parvovirus and panleucopenia are serious, acute diseases whereas kennel cough and flu are not it is not worth risking the vaccinosis problems outlined above to protect against these. Leukaemia is really a chronic disease allowed to express itself because of immunosuppression. I believe in part this immunosuppression is caused by the use of vaccines in particular the panleucopenia vaccine, The vaccine for Leukaemia is not that affective (5) and carries risks with its use. Leptospirosis and Hepatitis are diseases which are rarely seen and the serotypes in the vaccine are often not those found in practice so why risk using them? Remember if your cat or rabbit is an indoor animal only it will not need protection at all for these disease.

Ideally I would recommend using purely Homeopathic nosodes (see separate page) to give protection in early life, minimise risk situations until your companion is 6 months old or so and remember good quality nutrition including raw meats and veg as advised elsewhere. In the epidemic situation or if in a dogs home type of environment then vaccination may be wise. I believe you would have many fewer cases of allergy and autoimmune disease if you follow this advice but ...Please read widely and make up your own mind what to do for your companion (and children) as they cannot decide for themselves.

Rabies We are fortunate not to have compulsory rabies vaccination in this country as there are possibly worse problems with this vaccine seen in the USA. However the introduction of the Pet Passport scheme may cause us to see a number of the same problems as they have there. Time will tell. Perhaps we shall see an increase in aggression among vaccinated dogs and the reverse sneezing problem which affects so many dogs in the US. In the mean time be aware of the risk before you holiday with your pet.

Further information from a human perspective see Vaccination Information Networks Web Site

An article by a prominant American Veterinary Homeopath

 

For a view from the USA see the vaccine page on Alt Vet Med.com an excellent Web Site for holistic veterinary medicine

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Written References:

1. Tom Phillips and Ron Shultz "Canine and Feline Vaccines" in Current Veterinary Therapy XI ed Kirk and Bonagura (1992) pp205

2. Don Hamilton DVM "Vaccination" chapter in Homeopathic Care for Dogs and Cats. (North Atlantic Books, Berkerley CA) Another article by Don

3. Ron Shultz "Theory and Practice of Immunisation" paper presented at the American Holistic Veterinary Medical Association 1995 92-104

4. Neil Miller, "Vaccines: are they really safe and affective?" (Santa Fe NM. New Atlanean Press 1994)

5. Jane Scarlett and Roy Pollock "Year two of follow up evaluation of a commercial Feline Leukaemia vaccine" J Am Vet Med Assoc 199 (1991) 1431-1432

6. Scheibner "Vaccination The Medical Assault on the Immune System" Australian Print Group (1993)