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Canine Autoimmune Hemolytic Anemia (AIHA & IMHA) - How Risky is the Bordatella vaccs?
| Hi everyone, Tiggs is no longer vaccinated and is in remission from IMHA and ITP (dx July 2008 with a few relapses), but is on a lifetime maintenance dose of Pred, 2.5 EOD. I'm trying to weight the risk/benefit of vaccinating him for Bordatella given the fact that I work in animal welfare/rescue and interact with sick dogs every day. We do often foster dogs as well, and though some appear healthy, I know they can shed the kennel cough (bordatella) virus for up to 6 months even if they are symptom free. We will not vaccinate for rabies or any other things...but I wondered if the Bordatella vaccine was more innocuous? Any advice would be appreciated! We are very careful but I still would like to know. melissa and tiggs |
| Melissa slc |
| Hi Melissa, so good to hear from you and it makes me happy to know that Tiggs is doing well! I know that Dr. Dodds does not recommend Bordatella. I copied and pasted from her protocol: Boretella (Intranasal) (killed) Only recommended 3 days prior to boarding when required. Protects against 2 of the possible 8 causes of kennel cough. Duration of immunity 6 months. So it is comparable to the human flu vaccine, you get the vaccine but can still get sick. I assume there is no titer for bordatella, but I am not sure. Just with so many other things, I guess it is a matter of weighing the risks against the benefits. I would think if Tiggs is exposed to so many dogs he would be immune. Maybe worth sending Dr. Dodds an e-mail? I would really be interested what she says. Take care and give Tiggs a big hug from us! Brigitte & the poodle boys |
| Brigitte BC Canada |
| Melissa~ My mini-poodle, Tori is 6 mos into recovery with IMHA and we have choosen not to do Boretella (which is done nasally) at his time. We also do not board her, but have her groomed every 4 weeks which can be a concern. We had her titered for the other vacs and she came back vey protected and will not have to do titers for three years. Her rabies is not due until next Dec, but the vet will do a titer for that, too. FL allows for us to get a letter from the vet to forgo the rabies vac if she is immuned or if it is in the best interest of our dog to not do it. Would be interested in what our decision is about Boretella. So many choices and each one has good and bad attached. Blessings, Cindi & Tori |
| Cindi PCB |
| That's a tough one for sure...considering where you work! If it were me I'd opt NOT to vaccinate for Bordatella. It's just not worth the risk for me. Since Tiggs had both ITP and AIHA this would make the chances of having a reaction more likely. Since it's highly contagious I'd be taking all the precautions possible if I were you. Changing outfits when arriving and leaving work. Lots of washing with soap after leaving, etc. It might be of benefit to take a homeopathic approach to this. Tiggs is still fairly young so hopefully has a strong immune system regardless the small pred dose he's taking. Boosting the immune system might be a good idea. By boosting the immune system this doesn't mean it'll start attacking the blood again...just means the body will be prepared to fight any future infections or virus's. I give Tessy LOADS of immune boosters now! This is to help her fight off the cancer and I have almost no fear of it reating or causing the anemia to rear it's head again. It may actually be of benefit to do so with Tiggs! Do you take any of the dogs t owork with you? Anywho....soooo good to hear from you again! You know we worry about you so shame on you for not keeping us posted on our boy Tiggs!!! hehe :) Give him some hugs and scratches for me. Johnny & Tessy |
| Johnny |
| Bordetella Bronchiseptica is a bacterial infection of the tracheobronchitis that can also occur simultaneously with Adenoviris and Canine Parainfluenza viruses. It is easily transmitted through the air via saliva and droplets. It is so easy to contract in fact, that is why it is affectionately called Kennel Cough. Anywhere where dogs gather will be a place where this will be transmitted. Any dog that has this and recovers will continue to shed the bacteria for as long as several months (exposing other dogs.) Most dogs have been vaccinated for Adenoviris and Canine Parainfluenza when they are puppies because of the seriousness of these diseases. So they are usually not a consideration because they are viruses and the body tends to have lifelong immunity from their puppy vaccinations. (But not in all cases) Kennel cough is bacterial. The vaccine generally only protects for a short period of time so the recommendation is that it be administered 2x a year. Any dog that contracts kennel cough will develop a similar *short term* protection. In any case, the dog can get it over and over again if exposed. There are two forms: complicated and uncomplicated. Dogs that develop the more serious form can go on to develop serious conditions like chronic bronchitis or bacterial pneumonia. These dogs tend to be very young or old, or they are ill already. A healthy dog that contracts kennel cough can be treated with antibiotics (doxycycline) and will recover very quickly. The prognosis is good. Dogs that are already compromised have a much more serious prognosis. Quite simply, if you have a healthy dog, you have two choices, either wait until a few days before you are kenneling or visiting a dog class etc and have them vaccinated or simply accept that they may contract kennel cough and treat them with doxy. If you do this, make sure you are responsible and remove *your* dog from circulation for a period of time *that your vet will determine is safe.* If you have an unhealthy dog, my advice would be to not put them in any situations where they would have contact with dogs that might harbor the bacteria. period. Alternatively, if you must kennel etc, be sure they get the vaccination at that time because this condition could make them seriously ill. Getting the vaccine 2x a year would be excessive but would be the only way to protect them all the time. If you are visiting locations where you could pick up the bacteria and bring it home to a sick dog, you must take precautions. Buy a good kennel disinfectant and wash your shoes when you come home before entering. Put on clean clothes and wash the clothes you were wearing. Wash your hands and face carefully. These are precautions that you take with bacteria. It seems hard and it is. Look at the statistics of the number of folks in the hospital that contract serious bacterial infections that have nothing to do with the reason they were admitted. I'll bet most of you know someone in your family who developed a bacterial infection while they were in hospital. So even human health professionals have a hard time complying. And they do have control over the situation. my best patrice |
| Patrice NYS |
This thread was discussed between 19/02/2011 and 20/02/2011
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