What are the Rationales Behind Rabies Vaccine Schedules?
Rabies vaccination became a discussion in a dog park . . .
Is the 3yr rabies vaccine exactly the same as a 1yr rabies vaccine and just, on first use, it is only good clinically for 1 yr?
Why, in some states, is the first vaccination a 1yr only vaccination and, in other states, a first vaccination can be a 3yr vaccination if the dog is over one yr old?
Is this just because of individual state laws? This came up around a discussion on puppies and also adoption of dogs and vaccinations.
Fred
Pleasanton, CA
The Vet Blog has not touched upon vaccines in a while. Vaccines seem to be second only to food when it comes to causing controversy on this blog. Now that most of us seem to have recovered from the raw food disucssion, I think it is time to open up a new can of worms.
Tomorrow’s post will discuss the use of titers in lieu of vaccines. Today, let’s talk about rabies vaccines.
Rabies is among the most dreaded human diseases. According to the ultimate repository of human knowledge, Wikipedia, the disease kills 55,000 people each year. Untreated rabies has the distinction of being the most deadly disease known to mankind–mortality is 100%.
Until the advent of rabies vaccines, dogs were by far the leading source of human rabies. In areas where canine rabies vaccination is common, human rabies is very rare. Most human rabies cases occur in developing countries where pets do not routinely receive vaccines. In many of these countries, the mainstay of rabies control is mass slaughter of dogs during outbreaks. Poisoned meatballs were recently used in an attempt to control a rabies outbreak in Bali. In 2006, tens of thousands of dogs in China were killed in an attempt to halt a rabies outbreak.
Pets receive rabies vaccines to prevent the disease from spreading to humans. And given the events in Bali and China it is clear that rabies vaccination, in general, saves the lives of pets–both through prevention of rabies (which is 100% fatal in dogs and cats) and prevention of mass slaughters.
But . . . there is a highly relevant but.
In the United States rabies vaccines are administered by veterinarians to dogs (and sometimes cats) as required by law. Rabies vaccination laws are developed by state or local governments. And once the government gets involved, reason goes out the window.
Some rabies vaccines are labelled only for one year use. These must be given every year. Other rabies vaccines are labelled for three year use.
Those that are labelled for three year use are subject to the laws of local governments. In municipalities where annual rabies vaccination is required, the vaccine is given every year despite the label. In areas where three year vaccination is mandated, the exact same vaccine is given triannually.
There is no rhyme, reason, or hard science to back up any rabies law with which I’m familiar.
Rabies vaccination laws are capricious. This is especially true in cats. A case of rabies in a feral cat several years ago prompted San Mateo county, near San Francisco, to require rabies vaccines in all resident cats. Adjacent San Francisco county does not require feline vaccination. Rabies has not been reported in a cat in either county for several years (more than 100 years in the case of San Francisco).
In many places, rabies vaccinations administered to pets less than 16 weeks old are considered invalid even though there is no scientific basis for such a timeline. A puppy in Alaska recently exposed several people to the disease when it was younger than 16 weeks and had therefore not been vaccinated.
Rabies vaccinations have been linked, rarely, to cancers in cats. Some experts have suggested that rabies vaccination may trigger scary problems such as immune-mediated hemolytic anemia and ischemic dermatopathy in both species.
On balance, there is no doubt in my mind that rabies vaccination benefits pets and people. I’ll take the one-in-100,000 case of ischemic dermatopathy over mass culling with strychnine meatballs (or a high prevalence of human rabies) any day. But I believe that a more rational and scientific approach to rabies vaccination is in order.
The Rabies Challenge Fund is working to investigate the efficacy of rabies vaccines and promote a scientifically validated rabies vaccination schedule for pets. Perhaps some day it, and organizations like it, will lead to rabies vaccine requirements that are evidence based.
But at this point bureaucracy is carrying the day.
Photo: This photo from the CDC illustrates why pets get rabies vaccines.
You have questions. 
Thanks for the reminder that the alternative to not vaccinating is disease outbreak and culling. Perhaps a compromise would be for vets to record the re-vaccination date as indicated on the vaccine (3 years or 1 year) then check off the animal as vaccinated for the 2 years the actaully shot is not needed. My vet group is more concerned with seeing and assessing my dogs than giving shots.
RE your comment, “Rabies is among the most dreaded human diseases. According to the ultimate repository of human knowledge, Wikipedia, the disease kills 55,000 people each year.” I think your articles are very well-written; however, I would like to remind you that, while Wikipedia may be the “ultimate repository of human knowledge,” it is written by individuals who may not have thoroughly researched a topic, or may not even know what they’re talking about. I go to Wikipedia only for general info, but always with the mental caveat that any info posted there should be further researched and not taken on face value, even if the contributor seems to know what s/he is talking about and has seemingly impeccable credentials.
I am inclined to believe that the phrase “ultimate repository of human knowledge, Wikipedia” is used facetiously. But let us return to the topic of vaccines.
Yes, there are a lot of controversies stirred up, both in humans and animals, but the bottom line is do the benefits outweigh the risks? And in this case, they do.
I guess the lawmakers should stop it with the inconsistencies (what happens when a cat crosses over from one county to the next?). Convene a (non-lobbyist sponsored) panel, draw up best practice guidelines and go with that. But that may be expecting too much reason from them.
The “ultimate repository of human knowledge” phrase was indeed facetious.
However, I read an article in the Economist several years back that compared Wikipedia to the Encyclopaedia Brittanica. To the horror of the Encyclopaedia, Wikipedia turned out to be more accurate and comprehensive.
Nonetheless, there was a germ of truth in The Onion’s 4th of July headline from a few years back: “Wikipedia celebrates USA’s 1,540,000th birthday” (or something like that).
Given that two of my three dogs had serous (anaphylaxis shock) reactions to the RV it’s hard for me to say I feel it is always needed to give this vaccine.
I think my dogs are as happy as those who go to dog parks. Because I can not give them the vaccine I don’t take them to parks or to dog daycares. It’s a risk I have to take and I question the actual number of dogs who have horrible reactions to the vaccine since like I said, 2 our of three , the two who are not related, both had horrible reactions.
We have the 3 year vaccine at our office and I am a big fan of it personally. I think extending to 3 years is much better than vaccinating every year. If a group were to come out with research proving the titer lasts longer, I would hope that the Government and Vets offices would consider changing the vaccination protocols.
In our county, the dogs are registered with their Rabies Vaccinations. You must send in paperwork proving they’ve had their Rabies, and the County will send you a tag. I used to think it was just the County trying to collect their “pound of flesh” for everything since it was a pain to Send off money annually (extra $$ for un-neutered/unspayed) for a little tiny tag that needed to be renewed every year whether you got the 1 yr or 3 yr vaccine but now they have changed protocol and it’s actually cheaper to send off for their 3 year registration tag then to do it each year (about 15 bucks total for the 3 year).
With 4 pets recieving RV in the household, the 3 yr vaccination comes in handy (saving about 25 bucks per pet per annual visit for 2 years) and saving county tag registration fees for all 4.
It’s not perfect, but I’ll take what I can get! :)
I’m sorry, can someone explain to me why my cats should have rabies shots when they NEVER go outside. oh, yes, a bat could fly down my fireplace. hmmm well i have a screen up and glass doors. next?
my beautiful ragdoll Tony was fine until he got shots. he now has allergies for which i give him medication and he will suffer with these the rest of his life.
i can’t believe indoor cats need those vaccines! as far as giving the three year vaccine yearly- why would you give an animal three times the dose he needs? and yes, they do this, it happened to us before i got smart enough to say no.
I strongly feel that we are over vaccinating our pets. Not to mention the use of all these combo shots. One can’t boost immunity. Giving these shots year after year aren’t making our pets anymore immune. I would never use a vet who blindly recommended all vaccines for all pets. I’ve had pets who were incorrectly diagnosed with HOD when in reality it was a vaccine reaction.
If we ever use a breeder again we’re going with a natural rearing one. One who raw feeds and believes in minimal or no vaccines.
Vets can’t help it they are like doctors in a certain sense. Their only interest is sustaing the business (not all but I’m talking about an industry not an individual). Medications, and vaccines are a big part of their business. Sad but true, they can’t help it. This is why I’m so happy I have found a holistic vet who is also classicaly trained (doesn’t really practice that way anymore though).
We are over vaccinating our pets and it is changing who they are. It’s nice to see many owners, vets (Dr. Dodds), breeders, and others speaking out about the dangers that vaccines cause.
One of my dogs has had two serious allergic reactions to the rabies vaccine. He will not have another – I refuse to have him vaccinated for this again. Our vet agrees that too dangerous and has written him a medical waiver. He cannot get a city license tag, be boarded (except at our vet) or travel but that’s ok with me. If he does bite someone, he will need to be held for 10 days observation which our vet has agreed will be in her facility if it can’t be in our own home. Personally, choosing between the 100% chance of him having another reaction (and possibly dying) and the less than 1% chance of him contracting rabies is a no-brainer.
The reason why indoor cats should be vaccinated against rabies is that if you bring a new kitten into your home and it turns out to have rabies, which has happened, and your other cats are in danger of being euth and tested. If your cat escapes and is attacked by another animal, they are also in serious danger of being euth and tested for the safety of humans. Any possible case of rabies in a domestic animal is reported to the health dept.
I just want to say that I lived in the far north (Yellowknife, NWT) for three years and my then 10 year old GSD, who had never had a rabies shot when she came to Canada from Germany at 3 years of age (as part of the police dog breeding program), was given one for the first time. In the north, rabies is rampant as is the propensity for the fox population to wander about town. Many beloved pets and homeless dogs became infected with rabies – very sad. I am glad my vet advised me to vaccinate. We continue to do this with our second retired brood GSD, although in Canada, it depends where you live. (My first girl died peacefully in my arms at the age of 12).
These places like China and Bali need to focus on trying to get these dogs spayed or neutered….that will cut down on the pet overpopulation problem!! Its pretty simple… get them spayed/neutered and also give them their rabies shot at that time. They need to focus on the problem of over population….but most in China are cruel so it is probably easier for them to just kill them with sticks…..how horrific is that!!
Sadly, I was vaccinated for Rabies myself after being bitten by an infected kitten I was trying to rescue. As Kat noted, kittens CAN carry the virus as was one thought to be improbable and strays are unfortunately becoming a larger breeding ground for the spread of this killer. In my case, in a less populated area, people are more likely to allow their beloved animals to spend time outdoors, so it is VITAL that they receive the rabies vaccine. A rabid animal whether it be a raccoon, fox, skunk, bat, dog or a cat may display odd behaviors during the daytime when your pet is more likely to be outside or where YOUR CHILD may be playing. All it takes to transmit this virus is a scratch from the infected host OR if your pet becomes infected, a kiss (a lick) from them to you. VACCINATE your pets and be cautious about odd behavior in the animals that shouldn’t be out during the day if you should see them.
PLEASE EDUCATE yourself about this virus! It’s a painful, agonizing virus for a human to endure, any animal must feel the same. It’s 100% fatal if contracted and not treated. VACCINATIONS can help prevent the spread and the benefits outweigh any negatives.
these vaccines are VERY importane as i found out.we woke up with a sick bat that had gotten in our house,my entire family had to go through rabies prophalaxsis shots.our oldest dog had been vaccinated for rabies but not our puppy.(too young)we had the choice of putting our pup down or starting the rv, both dogs were vaccinated several times and were under quarrentine for 6 months.which has now passed.and our dogs are fine and healthy.our vet wasn’t as worried about our older dog,as she was vaccinated but was very worried about our lil one,cause we didn’t know if anyone or the dogs had been bitten.(we were asleep) our older dog had the protection of the rv but not the pup,if we KNEW for certain the pup had been bitten she would have had to have been put down as she had no rv protection,the older dog would have been in quarrentine with more shots.
people think if they keep their animals in the house they r protected ,but as our experience shows,things happen.r u sure a bat could NEVER get into your house? a crack, a hole small as a pencil,open door/window.don’t be complacent. for your pets and your safe health get the shots for them.
Still the question; is the 1-year RV the SAME as the 3-year? I have a 2-pound chi pup, 17 weeks old, worried about the effect of the shot on her as she is so tiny. I am considering waiting till she is a year old and go for the 3-year then.