Future vaccination issues

HISTORICAL BACKGROUND

Prior to 1998, vaccination recommendations were limited to the Compendium of Animal Rabies Prevention and Control, published annually by the National Association of State Public Health Veterinarians (at www.nasphv.org). In 1998, the American Association of Feline Practitioners (AAFP) published the first report of an Advisory Panel on Feline Vaccines recommending that adult cats be vaccinated every 3 years, rather than annually, against feline parvovirus (panleukopenia). Reaction to this report was profound. Veterinarians throughout North America voiced concerns that anything other than annual vaccination of adult cats against panleukopenia was inappropriate, irrational, and quite possibly detrimental to the health of the cat population. In December of 2000, the same Advisory Panel published a second iteration of the Guidelines for Feline Vaccination. In that report, the Panel expanded the “every 3 year” booster recommendation to include feline herpesvirus-1, feline calicivirus, and panleukopenia.

Then, in March 2003, the American Animal Hospital Association (AAHA) Canine Vaccine Task Force released its Guidelines on canine vaccination. In that document, 3-year booster intervals in adult dogs are recommended for distemper, parvovirus, adenovirus-2, and parainfluenza virus.

In 2004, some vaccine manufacturers announced results of challenge studies verifying the ability of their canine distemper, parvovirus, and adenovirus-2 combination vaccines to protect dogs against virulent challenge, thereby validating the recommendations outlined in the canine vaccination guidelines.

FUTURE VACCINATION ISSUES

It is important to remember, however, that despite the controversy over 3-year booster intervals for some vaccines, there are several strategic issues justifying the need for veterinarians to reassess recommendations for the selection and use of vaccines. Included among these issues are vaccine safety profiles, profound variation in exposure risk of individual dogs and cats, and changes in vaccine technology (e.g., recombinant vaccines).

These issues will take on even more importance in the future as new vaccines continue to be introduced and as more veterinarians question the need for and safety of these products. The introduction of so many vaccines in the past 10 years, and the promise of more to come, justify the need for the veterinary profession to critically address which vaccines are administered to which patients and at which stage of life.