July is Vaccine month! For the month of July receive 10% off all canine and feline vaccines!
Vaccines are very important for the prevention of many common illnesses and diseases. Many people may wonder why they have to vaccinate when they’ve never heard of any of the diseases they vaccinate against. The reason they’ve never heard of the diseases is because of regular vaccination. so the best option is to keep up the trend and keep vaccinating. There are still areas of the world where diseases like feline leukemia and parvovirus are still prevalent.
Core vaccines are recommended for all puppies and dogs with an unknown vaccination history. The diseases involved have significant morbidity and mortality rates and are widely distributed, and in general, vaccination results in good protection from disease. These include vaccines for canine parvovirus (CPV), canine distemper virus (CDV), canine adenovirus (CAV), and rabies. For Bordetella bronchiseptica, a vaccination is recommended for dogs expected to board, be shown, or to enter a kennel situation within 6 months of the time of vaccination, or that live active lifestyles and are around other dogs frequently. This could mean going to the groomers, or going to dog parks.
Dog Vaccines: DA2PP, Bordetella Bronchiseptica & Rabies
DA2PP stands for:
- Distemper
- Adenovirus1 and 2
- Parvo Virus
- Parainfluenza
DISTEMPER
Canine distemper is a contagious and serious viral illness with no known cure. The disease affects dogs, and certain species of wildlife, such as raccoons, wolves, foxes, and skunks. The common house pet, the ferret, is also a carrier of this virus. Canine distemper belongs to the Morbillivirus class of viruses, and is a relative of the measles virus, which affects humans, the Rinderpest virus that affects cattle, and thePhocine virus that causes seal distemper. All are members of the Paramyxoviridaefamily. Young, unvaccinated puppies and non-immunized older dogs tend to be more susceptible to the disease.
The virus, which is spread through the air and by direct or indirect (i.e. utensils, bedding) contact with an infected animal, initially attacks a dog’s tonsils and lymph nodes and replicates itself there for about one week. It then attacks the respiratory, urogenital, gastrointestinal, and nervous systems.
In the initial stages of Canine Distemper, the major symptoms include high fever (≥103.5 ° F, or 39.7° C), reddened eyes, and a watery discharge from the nose and eyes. An infected dog will become lethargic and tired, and will usually become anorexic. Persistent coughing, vomiting, and diarrhea may also occur. In the later stages of the disease, the virus starts attacking the other systems of the dog’s body, particularly the nervous system. The brain and spinal cord are affected and the dog may start having fits, seizures, paralysis, and attacks of hysteria.
Canine distemper is sometimes also called “hard pad disease” because certain strains of the virus can cause an abnormal enlargement or thickening of the pads of an animal’s feet. In dogs or animals with weak immune systems, death may result two to five weeks after the initial infection.
The disease can be acquired from improperly attenuated vaccines, though this occurs rather rarely. Bacterial infections of the respiratory or gastrointestinal systems may also increase an animal’s vulnerability to the disease. Non-immunized dogs that come into any kind of contact with an infected animal carry a particularly high risk of contracting the disease.
Infectious canine hepatitis
A viral disease of that is caused by the canine adenovirus, a type of DNA virus that causes upper respiratory tract infections. This virus targets the (functional) parts of the organs, notably the liver, kidneys, eyes and endothelial cells (the cells that line the interior surface of the blood vessels).
The virus begins by localizing in the tonsils around 4 to 8 days after nose and mouth exposure. It then spreads into the bloodstream — a condition know as viremia (in the blood stream) — and localizes in the Kupffer cells (specialized white blood cells located in the liver) and endothelium of the liver. The virus is shed into the feces and saliva, making both infectious to other dogs.
In a healthy dog with an adequate antibody response, the viral cells will clear the organs in 10 to 14 days, but will remain localized in the kidneys, where the virus will continue to be shed in the urine for 6 to 9 months.
In dogs with only partial neutralizing antibody response, chronic hepatitis takes place. This severe condition often results in cytotoxic ocular injury due to inflammation and death of the cells in the eye with inflammation of the front of the eye (anterior uveitis). This condition leads to one of the more outwardly visible and classic signs of infectious hepatitis: “hepatitis blue eye.”
There are no breed, genetic, or gender associations for acquiring the CAV-1 virus, but but it is primarily seen in dogs that are less than one year of age.
Symptoms
Symptoms will depend on the immunologic status of the host and degree of initial injury to the cells (cytotoxic):
- Peracute (very severe) stage will have symptoms of fever, central nervous system signs, collapse of blood vessels, coagulation disorder (DIC); death frequently occurs within hours
- Acute (severe) stage will show symptoms of fever, anorexia, lethargy,vomiting, diarrhea, enlarged liver, abdominal pain, abdominal fluid, inflammation of the vessels (vasculitis), pinpoint red dots, bruising of skin (petechia), DIC, swollen, enlarged lymph nodes (lymphadenopathy), and rarely, inflammation of the brain (nonsuppurative encephalitis)
- Uncomplicated infection will have symptoms of lethargy, anorexia, transient fever, tonsillitis, vomiting, diarrhea, lymphadenopathy, enlarged liver, abdominal pain
- Late stage infection will result in 20 percent of cases developing eye inflammation and corneal swelling four to six days postinfection; recovery often within 21 days, but may progress to glaucoma and corneal ulceration
Cat Vaccines;
The definitions of core and non-core vaccines described in the canine vaccination guidelines above also apply to the feline vaccines. The core feline vaccines are those for feline herpesvirus 1 (FHV1), feline calicivirus (FCV), feline panleukopenia virus (FPV) and rabies. Optional or non-core vaccines for cats consist of the vaccines for feline leukemia virus (FeLV), Chlamydia.
