Catherine ODriscolls reply to this article Dear Suzanne Your - TopicsExpress



          

Catherine ODriscolls reply to this article Dear Suzanne Your piece about there being a leptospirosis outbreak in dogs is circulating around Facebook. I have written two best-selling books on canine vaccination and the side-effects, and lecture around the world on the subject. I am an expert in this field. The new four-way leptospirosis vaccine is causing severe side-effects in dogs. It is deemed a ‘non-core’/optional vaccine by the World Small Animal Veterinary Association (WSAVA) Vaccine Guidelines Group. The WSAVA tells us that the leptospirosis vaccine should only be used if there is a serious disease threat. Even then, experts on the WSAVA Vaccine Guidelines Group have stated publically that they would not use the vaccine and that it causes unacceptable adverse effects. Highcroft Veterinary services has not quantified the ‘outbreak’, and I would suggest there is unlikely to be an outbreak. Leptospirosis is rare in the UK. The four-way vaccine replaces the old two-way. What this means is that there are over 200 strains of lepto, but only two or three of those strains in the vaccine. Therefore its ability to cover dogs against leptospirosis is patchy, to say the least. It is interesting that this vet group didn’t come to you before the introduction of the new vaccine to publish a piece about the ‘old’ vaccine not working (“8 out of 9 cases have been in vaccinated dogs”). The four-way vaccine is unlikely to work, too. The lepto vaccine is the one most associated with severe adverse reactions, including brain damage and death. Leptospirosis infection in humans is called Weil’s disease. There is no vaccine for humans because animal vaccines for lepto are known to be dangerous and ineffective. You have published a sales pitch by a vet group. They should be directed to the advertising department. Dr Ronald Schultz, arguably the world’s most eminent independent expert, and a leading member of the WSAVA VGG, said: “We have seen very few cases of leptospirosis at the University of Wisconsin Veterinary Medical Teaching Hospital during the past 10 years, even though the Midwest is an endemic area. The cases seen have been associated with serovars present in the vaccines as well as other serovars, and they occurred in dogs that had been vaccinated annually, and in some cases the most recent vaccinations had been given less than six months before disease. “Because of the generally poor efficacy, routine use of leptospira bacterins cannot be recommended. To be protective for the two serovars present, a vaccine would need to be given every four to six months. However, this is not recommended because of concern of hypersensitivity (types I and III) reactions. This is clearly a product that needs to be improved before it should be recommended for routine use in all dogs.” Type I reactions involve acute anaphylactic shock, where the individual can die very swiftly. Type III hypersensitivity reactions can lead to conditions such as Lupus, arthritis, and pemphigus (a blistering autoimmune disease that affects skin and mucous membranes). If you would like to follow this piece up I would be happy to let you have the scientific facts, rather than the sales spiel. With kind regards Catherine ODriscoll.
Posted on: Thu, 15 Jan 2015 11:07:37 +0000

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