Vaccinations and boarding

Vet Times The website for the veterinary profession https://www.vettimes.co.uk Vaccinations and boarding Author : CLAIRE BESSANT ET AL Categories : Vets Date : September 8, 2014 CLAIRE BESSANT ET AL Chief executive International Cat Care write in response to a letter penned by the Pet Welfare Alliance concerning the health of cats and dogs in boarding establishments THE Pet Welfare Alliance published a letter in Veterinary Times (March 24 issue) and sent letters to licensing authorities, boarding establishments and welfare organisations regarding the vaccination and boarding/keeping of dogs and cats, making some proposals about changing the way it is done. The Cat Group would like to respond to these points in relation to cats, and Dogs Trust in relation to dogs, and put a different point of view, with the safety of cats and dogs going into boarding establishments foremost in our minds, and a common sense approach made to balancing the risks. Many organisations represented here are also welfare/rescue organisations and, while there is no legislation covering so-called shelter environments, the keeping of a large number of dogs or cats in a relatively confined environment means the principles of approach to disease are much the same as a boarding establishment. Some rescue organisations have the resources to ensure the highest level of construction within their rehoming centres, but animals are accepted from a variety of different sources so the threat of disease is a constant challenge. Biosecurity is vital and vaccination is an important factor in disease control strategy. The Animal Boarding Establishments Act (1963), and the model licence conditions (MLCs) that accompany it, are there to protect pets and minimise risk of harm from escape, disease, injury and so on. The establishment is in charge of other peoples animals and these owners do not expect 1 / 6

their pets to be injured, lost or ill on collection. Boarding establishments will be viewed by the public as being informed about safety in all these different aspects. The Animal Boarding Establishments Act (1963) says all reasonable precautions will be taken to prevent and control the spread among animals of infectious or contagious diseases and says vaccination should be current, which presumably means effective. In boarding, a large number of cats and dogs are kept together and the potential for spread of disease is high. In addition, standards of construction and management vary considerably, and that inspection standards for local authority licensing vary across the country. Therefore, some cats and dogs will find themselves being housed in very high risk situations with proprietors who may not fully understand disease control. Owners can ensure cats and dogs are vaccinated and catteries and kennels can ask for this to minimise the risk of infectious disease spread. To keep cats and dogs safe in boarding establishments there must be proper construction, proper management and protection against disease by vaccination and disease control methods. The MLCs set out standards for construction to minimise risk of harm and escape. Good management protocols for handling, disinfection and vaccination will help keep animals safe. New MLCs for cats has recently been published and the equivalent MLCs for dogs are under review. Guidelines WSAVA guidance suggests vaccination every three years for feline calicivirus and feline herpesvirus, but WSAVA acknowledges this is a point of debate and some experts recommend annual vaccination, especially in high-risk situations such as entering a boarding establishment. The other two sets of international guidelines on vaccination of cats those from the European Advisory Board on Cat Diseases (ABCD) and the American Association of Feline Practitioners (AAFP) both suggest vaccination prior to going into a boarding cattery and annual revaccination for such high-risk situations. For dogs, WSAVA states all dogs should receive a booster for core vaccines one year after completion of the primary course, then vaccination should be no more frequent than every three years. While this is appropriate for the live vaccine components (parvovirus, distemper and hepatitis) it is not the case for leptospirosis, which is a very important vaccine in many regions and, as a killed vaccine, requires annual vaccination. The Pet Welfare Alliance letter put forward a proposal to be adopted by licensing authorities, welfare organisations and boarding establishments. The organisations represented by this letter reply: 2 / 6

A: routine vaccination Serious risks of vaccination are now known to be even lower than previously thought the risk of contracting a disease is much greater than those associated with the vaccination (see references). Therefore: For cat flu (feline calicivirus and herpesvirus), the cat should be vaccinated annually if it goes into a cattery annually. For feline enteritis, vaccination can be every three years if owners want to separate it out, but it is often part of a multivalent vaccine and it is not a problem to do it annually for cats going into a cattery annually. For canine parvovirus, distemper and hepatitis, vaccination every three years is acceptable and adequate. Annual vaccination of dogs against leptospirosis must be administered for the vaccine to remain effective. As per WSAVA guidelines, the decision to vaccinate depends on whether a dog s geographical location, local environment or lifestyle places it at risk of contracting disease. While this principle applies, BSAVA consider leptospirosis to be an essential vaccine in the UK. Kennel cough is an annual vaccination, but the disease is complex, with clinical signs caused by a number of different pathogens. Current vaccination protects against two major pathogens, Bordetella bronchiseptica and canine parainfluenza virus and can be highly valuable in a high-risk situation. B: antibody titre testing Titre tests are not valid for all diseases. Antibody titres do not necessarily correspond to protection. For some agents, antibody titres can predict protection such as for parvovirus/panleukopenia. However, laboratory techniques for measuring titres are not standardised, and can be hard to interpret, potentially making the exercise null and void. Even where there is correlation between antibody levels and a protective immunity, it does not aid in decisions such as when to re-test and how long immunity will last. If titre tests are used to justify vaccinating less frequently than vaccine manufacturers recommendations, there may be implications should a dog or cat succumb to disease. 3 / 6

For cats, titre tests are not a good basis for deciding on protection and they are not practical. The stress of taking a blood sample would be far greater than having a vaccination, and most owners would not want to put their cats through this, or the expense of doing this every time they used a cattery, especially when the results (reliable or not) may then point to vaccination anyway. Note that titre tests are not valid for all diseases for cats this includes herpesvirus and calicivirus infections, and feline leukaemia. For dogs, titre testing can be useful in assessing an individual s level of protection against parvovirus, distemper and hepatitis, but with the reservations outlined above. Titre testing is not valid for leptospirosis. C: case by case WSAVA states the benefits of protection from life-threatening disease far outweigh the risk of adverse reactions. There will always be rare situations where there is an unexpected response to vaccination. On the rare occasion where vaccination has caused a serious problem previously, owners may be reluctant to vaccinate again. This should have been discussed with the vet, who ideally will have reported the reaction to the vaccine manufacturer/vmd and obtained advice. This situation can be difficult, but the responsibility should be on the owner to produce a signed document from his or her vet advising against vaccination. Then it is the proprietor s choice whether to accept the animal. It would be prudent to have the owner also sign a form confirming the dog or cat is boarded at his or her own risk. The proprietor may wish to board the animal in the isolation unit for its own protection, but this means the unit will not be available to sick animals. This decision has to be the proprietor s and he or she may wish to refuse the cat or dog in question. Such situations must be dealt with on a case by case basis with due consideration given to the potential risks, including the implications on the proprietor s insurance. D: proven There is no other scientifically proven way of providing immunisation other than vaccination. Homeopathy and homeopathic vaccines are not acceptable. Boarding cattery and kennel proprietors have responsibility for other people s cats and dogs. If they do not take the risk of disease seriously and undertake practical, proven and sensible measures to minimise risk, they leave themselves open to charges of neglect should anything go wrong. They should also check their insurance policies for clauses on the vaccination status of an animal.? Cat Group members: International Cat Care (including International Society of Feline Medicine), Cats Protection, 4 / 6

RSPCA, Blue Cross, BSAVA, BVA, GCCF, Battersea Dogs and Cats Home, The Mayhew Animal Home, Wood Green, the Animals Charity, and PDSA. Chairman Os Jarrett. Claire Bessant, chief executive International Cat Care, secretariat to the Cat Group. References and advice For advice on vaccination of cats in relation to catteries, visit International Cat Care s website www.icatcare.org/advice/catteries/vaccination-cats-relation-catteries Dean R S, Pfeiffer D U and Adams V J (2013). The incidence of feline injection site sarcomas in the United Kingdom, BMC Vet Res 9: 17 doi: 10.1186/1746-6148-9-17. Day M J (2006). Vaccine side effects: fact and fiction, Vet Microbiol 117(1): 51-58. Edwards D S, Henley W E, Ely E R and Wood J L (2004). Vaccination and ill-health in dogs: a lack of temporal association and evidence of equivalence, Vaccine 22(25-26): 3,270-3,273. Moore G E, DeSantis-Kerr A C, Guptill L F, Glickman N W, Lewis H B and Glickman L T (2007). Adverse events after vaccine administration in cats: 2,560 cases (2002-2005), J Am Vet Med Assoc 231(1): 94-100. BSAVA position statement on vaccination: www.bsava.com/resources/positionstatements/vaccination.aspx WSAVA Vaccine guidelines: www.wsava.org/guidelines/vaccination-guidelines 5 / 6

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