Canine Autoimmune Hemolytic Anemia (AIHA & IMHA) - Vaccines and titer checks

So what do you all do regarding the Rabies vaccine? We sent the titer, but what do you do if the titer comes back that they need the Rabies vaccine? For Calypso all we checked was a parvo titer and rabies titer, her vet thought the rest was just not necessary to do. What titers do you check and how often? Thanks, Wendi

Wendi Ohio

Wendy, Many vets will issue a rabies waiver for dogs with AIHA/IMHA. That means they will not have to be vaccinated again for rabies. My vet did this and Meisha went for many years without having to be vaccinated for rabies. I have never done rabies titers but I do do titers for parvo and and distemper. I did titers every year on my Maddie (non AIHA/IMHA dog) and will do titers on Maggie yearl also a non AIHA/IMHA dog. We have our titers done at Cornell here is info: http://ahdc.vet.cornell.edu/service/special.asp

Joanne MN

Hi Wendi, Calypso's titers will probably be fine. Dr Dodds told us to run the titers every 3 years. How old is Calypso? If she has had muliple rabies vaccines already, she will probably never need one again. Henri, our puppy with IMHA, was only vaccined for rabies one time and showed adequate immunity when we ran titers this spring. There are titers available for rabies, parvo, and distemper. All rabies titers in this country are run in a lab at Kansas State University. Parvo and Distemper are usually run as a panel together, there are several labs in the US that run this panel. Blood can be sent to Dr Dodds' lab for the parvo/distemper panel. We send Henri's blood to Kansas for the rabies titer and to Dr Dodds for the parvo/distemper titer panel. Hope this helps. Ella Henri, West Highland White Terrier, 23-months, diagnosed with vaccine-induced IMHA at 5-months, current meds: benedryl.

Ella Seattle

Thanks for the responses! Joanne, does your state require rabies vaccines? I am in Ohio and they do require it. I am just wondering how you get the waiver? Ella, Calypso is about 1.5 years old. We are unsure of many vaccines she recieved because she was a shelter dog, but we believe that she got her puppy shots at the shelter, then was adopted out and when she was returned, got her vaccines again. I am not sure where the blood is being run, I will have to ask her.... Thanks wendi

Wendi Ohio

Yes, My state does require the rabies vaccine. But it does allow waivers for dogs who have a life threatening illness. My vet merely wrote a letter to my city stating that in his opinion giving Meisha the rabies vaccine would endanger her life because of her AIHA. my city accepted this letter and I was able to purchase Meisha a dog license so I was legal with both my city and state. You might want to check with your city to see if they allow such waivers.

Joanne MN

We also do a waiver, and it's also required by law here in Utah. We didn't have a problem last year, and we're due right now and just got the new waiver. I have never run titers on him for anything, maybe I should. melissa and tiggs

melissa slc

THANKS! I checked and did find out that my vet can write a letter. We are still just going to check her titer just since she is such a young dog.

Wendi Ohio

Wendi - That's great you are able to get an exception letter. I suggest you also look into what the implications are should Calypso bite or scratch just so you understand them and can make any changes in your routine you feel you need to make. After my dog was diagnosed, my vet wrote a letter stating Murray could not be vaccinated for rabies due to medical reasons and it was acknowledged by Animal Care & Control. However, should he bite, the current law in Illinois/Cook County says he must be impounded at a veterinary hospital for ten days for observation & vaccinated at the end of that time since he does not have a current rabies vaccine. I do titers annually for my peace of mind and his levels are more than adequate but the state/county does not recognize them as proof of immunity. I wanted to mention this b/c it was initially a surprise to me that he could be impounded and ultimately vaccinated; I thought he would be "in the clear" because he had a medical exemption and I had proof of immunity. I gave much thought to the decision b/c Murray is an old dog with other medical problems and he likely would not survive a ten-day quarantine in a kennel. But, I couldn't justify "automatically" vaccinating him again after all we had gone through with IMHA so, on balance, this seemed to be the more manageable risk. Having the knowledge of what could happen has allowed me to make changes to reduce the risk of an incident - I am proactive avoiding people and dogs we don't know well on our walks, I allow no one to approach him at the vet or groomers, etc. I am hopeful that, soon, titers will be accepted as proof of immunity and more reasonable vaccine protocols will be more readily adopted but, until then, I'll make the changes I can/need to and work hard to keep him safe and protected on all fronts! Best of luck - I hope things go well for Calypso. Bonnie

Bonnie Chicago

Thanks Bonnie, that is great food for thought. I am guessing that we probably have same policy, but will check into it. I also do not allow Calypso to interact with other dogs, we do not go to the groomers, or board her at all, we schedule all of our vet visits before the office opens to ensure no contact with others.

Wendi Ohio

Oh and she also wheres a tag that says she is allergic to all vaccines and that she has IMHA

Wendi Ohio

This thread was discussed between 26/08/2010 and 27/08/2010

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