You’ve quoted that same bit of text around seven times in this thread.
You seem quite familiar with it so I’d like you to explain what you think it means.
Don’t tell that to Alexion…They’ve been doing personalised medicine since the 90s
I am sure the Democratic states are on a good path but what a terrible mess when changing states gives you a totally different medical service
Some Democratic-led states are choosing to increase access to vaccines after the Trump administration restricted who is eligible for COVID-19 shots.
While it makes an incredible amount of sense to have one rule for the entire country, and territories, if that isn’t possible then the states must go their own way.
At least we haven’t yet seen vaccines being banned by states yet.
Well, I guess I shouldn’t be surprised:
With all the (human) anti vaxx nonsense floating about, veterinarinans are now seeing vaccine hesitancy cropping up among pet owners.
From the article:
"As rabies seems to be spreading more in wildlife, veterinarians are especially worried about vaccine hesitancy spreading among pet owners, a dangerous trend that could lead to more dogs — and their owners — becoming infected. A 2023 study published in the journalVaccine found in a nationally representative sample of Americans that nearly 40% believed canine vaccines were unsafe and 37% believed that vaccines could lead their dogs to develop cognitive issues, such as autism.
Dr. Gabriella Motta, a veterinarian from Glenolden, Pennsylvania, and a co-author of the study, says she often sees clients who are concerned vaccines might hurt their dog.
“It’s an issue we’re worried about, that could be on the rise in the future,” Motta said. “If we continue to see plummeting vaccination rates or increasing vaccine hesitancy, are we going to see [rabies] in more pets, and not just wildlife? We’re kind of starting to sound the alarms.”
What is most shocking to me is not that a few people believe this nonsense, but that it’s such a high percentage.
I noticed the following cited again:
Meta-analysis of the relationship between risk perception and health behavior: the example of vaccination
Health Psychol (2007)
People are really bad at judging risk.
Rabies is a terrible disease. An English woman died of it the other day after light contact with a puppy in Morocco three months before.
I am actually in danger of agreeing with Trump but not forgetting he put an anti-vaxxer in charge of America’s health so straddling the fence
Amen to that.
And it should go without saying: Please keep your dog’s vaccinations up to date, folks.
Err, not sure why it goes without saying. Historically, in Europe, it’s only been needed for permission to travel, and the WHO and other sources I’ve been checking says there is no rabies in CH or any of the surrounding countries, and there hasn’t been for many years.
The only rare cases in recent years have been in humans who’ve had contact with animals while abroad.
20+ years ago, or more, they removed the requirement for pets to be vaccinated against Rabies. I recall in the years before there was a campaign to eradicate Rabies from local wildlife. This involves dropping chicken carcasses impregnated with the vaccine from helicopters.
Apparently it was a success.
BBC has an interesting article out today about the history of anti-vax movements:
This part of the thread was concerning people not getting their pets vaccinated as they feared vaccination would give their pets autism.
I read Meloncollie’s comment as pertaining to vaccinations in general for dogs and not just the rabies one.
That’s how I understood it as well but I can see why it might have caused confusion as she quoted the part of your post relating to rabies.
Yes indeed that’s what I meant.
There are many animal diseases that we vaccinate for, such as Distemper, Parvovirus, KC, Lepto, etc. Which diseases your dog is at risk for may vary depending on where you live in Switzerland.
FYI, the Schweizerische Vereinigung für Kleintiermedizin put out a list that explains which basic vaxxes are recommended, which additional vaxxes your dog might be advised to have given where you live and what you do, and when to vaccinate. One should discuss your own dog’s vaccination schedule with your own vet.
If you board your dog at a Tierheim or use a Hundehort, if you take part in dog sports, if you attend a Hundeschule, if you are involved in certain volunteer programs, these activities may require you to vaccinate for specific additional diseases. The requirement decision is made by the facility or organization, based on the needs of all involved.
In my decades of Tierschutz work here I’ve seen some awful stuff that could have been avoided if the recommended vaxx schedule had been followed.
For instance, Parvo will break your heart (and many a Tierschutzer’s spirit). It sweeps through a facility like wildfire and is often fatal. Once present the facility must shut down until remediation is done. Meaning, if quarantine is not possible, some animals in the facility even if healthy might have to be euthanized, as few other facilities will take the risk of temporary placement.
Lepto is another gruesome disease - you don’t want your best friend to fall victim to this one.
One of the issues to discuss with your vet is how climate change is affecting canine infectious diseases. Some of the warm climate diseases that we didn’t worry about decades ago have in recent years been seen, albeit uncommonly, north of the Alps. One should discuss individual risks and mitigation (vaccine or prophylaxis) with your vet.
Switzerland is still considered rabies free, the vaxx is not required for a dog that is born in and remains in Switzerland. But it is nonetheless strongly recommended.
The last rabies case was a bat in 2022; there have only been six reported cases in 40 years. Nonetheless, because our pet population is far more travelled today than in previous decades, increaasing risky contact - and most importantly because we want Switzerland to remain rabies free - baring other medial contraindications, one should keep up to date with the rabies vaccine.
And of course, travel requries proof of valid vaccination.
Every year cases make the news where someone brings dogs into Switzerland illegally, or even ‘merely’ incorrectly - which means that there is no proof of vaccination against rabies. In such cases, absent proof of vaccination prior to entry, the dog may ordered euthanized. Yes, even if otherwise healthy.
(Some of you might remember discussions about this on the old EF.)
Why put your four footed friend at unnecessary risk? Keep your vaxxes up to date. If your have questions, your vet will happily discuss this issue with you, with your individual risks in mind.
/ Hopping off soap box now
The same applies although probably to a lesser extent for cats too.
If you need to board your car during your holidays most* catteries will require them to be vaccinated.
- all of the ones that we’ve used require it.
Same experience with our cars …
Committing the sin of quoting myself…
A reminder that recommendations wrt contraindications might change over time, so if your pet is afflicted with a medical condition where a specific vaccine might be contraindicated, every few years you should ask your vet if there have been updates to the guidance wrt that condition.
For instance, when Hooligan was diagnosed with epilepsy we were advised not to vaccinate against rabies, largely out of an abundance of caution given the frequency of her seizures. She still received all other recommended vaccinations, though.
Just to head off the vaxx hesitancy crowd, there was * never * any correlation with her epileptic seizures with any of the vaccines administered throughout her lifetime.
10 years later, we learned that Robin Goodfellow also suffered from a neurological seizure disorder. I asked what we should do about his rabies vaxx going forward. The vet said then that it was now considered safe to administer the rabies vaxx despite his seizures. So he gets the rabies vaxx, and all the other recommended vaxxes, on schedule.
And again for the hesitancy crowd, in the eight years since there is no correlation whatsoever to his seizures and his vaxx schedule. And to state the obvious - contraindication for one vaccine does not mean contraindication for all vaccines.
Also to head off vaxx hesitancy, that two of my dogs were affected by seizure disorders is likely due to genetics. In a weird co-incidence, we found that Hooligan and Robin, rescue dogs who came from different countries years apart, were related.
TL;DR Medical advice changes with new research. So it is a good idea to discuss contraindication status regularily with your vet.