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Canine Autoimmune Hemolytic Anemia (AIHA & IMHA) - If you have contacted the Vaccine manufacturer
| I'm planning to contact the vaccine manufacturer. I just checked the dates again and Chip had his vaccines on December 22, 2006 and was diagnosed January 13, 2007. For those who have done so, what information do I need. What did you say -- I think you are to blame? Any advice from those who have been there would be appreciated! Thanks. Sherri |
| Sherri Pennsylvania |
| Hi Sherri, Kent had his vaccines dec 1st - boosters and rabies, was diagnosed in February (but he had been weird, odd, not himself for some time before this - also developed epilepsy in january). I contacted the manufacturer to report an adverse reaction. As soon as i said "vaccine" "aiha" i was transferred from teh vet tech who is first on the phone to the senior vet at the manufacturer. He asked all kinds of questions and basically said there is no proven cause and effect between vaccination and AIHA. When asked their policy on what they do when there is a case he offered his condolensces and good luck. They wanted to contact our vet and get kents records and i declined to give permission for this. I believe there are a few people on this list who have written to the manufacturers and received reimbursement / settlement. I would really appreciate having a copy or draft version of the letter as a template as I intend to pursue this and very much could use any settlement for Kents continued care. Anyone with any luck with this, please post - thank you thank you! Two additional notes: the senior vet at the manufacturer stated he only vaccinates his own dogs every three years. ( I couldnt believe this when i heard it). also, fort dodge had a bad batch of rabies vaccine and a recall. Any dog that got sick from that is being settled financially - with very little red tape. So I hear - from several sources. Anyone with any info on letters written etc. please post. Thank you, Christine and Kent |
| Christine Fl |
| It took me several letters but I was lucky (!) and the vaccine company Intervet agreed to help. My local vet had written to them also to report the AIHI diagnosis 2 weeks after the vaccine was administered. Another company Meryl paid out and I used this information in my letter. I had to send the vaccine batch number details plus costs from the vet for Georgie's care. The vets were very good too and were prepared to wait for the companies response and left our bill outstanding for several months. You will probably have to sign a form of disclaimer. We had to accept the payment as a goodwill offer, made without prejudice and not as an acceptance of any liability, etc. Hope this is useful. After a 6 month battle with several relapses, we know how expensive the treatment can be. Steph Christine I have sent you an email |
| Steph Wales |
| Thank you both --- I'm really fuming NOW. I found the original rabies info and Merial is the manufacturer -- and who makes Frontline??????????? Merial I did find the adverse reaction link someone had sent me back in the beginning and I did use that: https://web01.aphis.usda.gov/CVB/adverseeventreport.nsf/Adverse%20Event%20Report%20Form?OpenForm I went to Merial site and haven't found an address yet just a phone number not sure if I can deal with a live person just yet but will get their address. Also I found another site regarding a petition about vaccines if you are interested: http://www.petitiononline.com/petvax23/ Sherri |
| Sherri Pennsylvania |
| Sherri, Is Kent on meds for his epilepsy?? My Ern was diagnosed with AIHA last October 6 weeks after starting on phenobarbital for his epilepsy. Apparently it's a very rare but not unknown reaction that phenobarb can cause hematological disorders. Even my vet hadn't heard of it until I found a couple of articles online. Ern was being treated with pred and not responding very well. As soon as we discovered the link with phenobarb and stopped it his recovery was almost instant. He's now been med free for 3 months and all his blood tests have been normal. |
| Sue Northants UK |
| Hi Steph, Sherri, All, Steph - i did not get your email, could you please resend? And thank you! Sherri, What happened with kent was this -he got vaccinated (rabies, and boosters) Dec 1 06. Started acting weird - slow, vacant, odd, about 10 - 15 days later. He just wasnt himself. Then he started slipping, literally, on the floor, when he would get up, etc. We thought he was just out of it and a little clumsy and suddenly liked watching tv. He was just over 9 at the time, and vet thought it was age. It was all so gradual. Then in February, he had a full on seizure (not grand mal), went to the vet and went home with phenobarbitol. He still had seizures, sometimes 5 at a go in an hour. It was horrible. But he kept getting worse,and one day i found him lying on the floor in teh morning, unable to get up, just splayed there, diarrhea in the back yard. Took him in immediatly and he was diagnosed with AIHA and taken off pheno and put on pred after 3 days in hospital and a transfusion. To the best of my knowledge his blood had not been tested until then, but i am not sure and would have to check. That was Feb 15 i think. Never had a seizure again. Never. In fact, he actually did very well, then had a relapse in November. We are still battling but he is slowly improving and we are taking the reduction of meds very slow and spoiling him rotten. It was about 3 weeks i think between his diagnosis with epilepsy and his AIHA diagnosis. I did not know of a connection between phenobarbitol and AIHA but am not surprised. I do believe, though, that Kent had AIHA long before the diagnosis. At first the vet thought he had distemper or a tick disease, and these panels were run and were negative. But something was affecting his nerves and brain before the phenobarbitol - i now think it was lack of oxygen overall. I dont know though. As for the reporting aspect, i called pfizer and like i said, they immediatly put me to a 'higher authority' vet who was very nice but only offered us good luck and suggested it could be anything but their vaccines. I intend to report to the epa/fda, but want to send a written letter at that time and have been holding off while i try to write a convincing one. Not sure whether to bombard them all (including manufacturer?) with a box of papers or research, or just a short, succint letter. I did mention Fort Dodge and their current way of handling this to Pfizer, and they had no response. I'm still ticked that pfizer, on their web site, recommends to the vets yearly boosters, when their own expert vet told me he only does every 3 years, if that. Anyway, sorry for babbling, I hope others will pitch in here with some comments or lessons learned.. Christine |
| Christine fl |
This thread was discussed between 03/04/2008 and 04/04/2008
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