2008 RABIES Vaccine-JAVMA Report Adverse Reactions in Dogs

[Kris L. Christine]

2008 REPORT ON RABIES VACCINE ADVERSE REACTIONS IN DOGS

The Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association has published a report in its April 1, 2008 issue, Vol. 232, No. 7, entitled: Postmarketing Surveillance of Rabies Vaccines for Dogs to Evaluate Safety and Efficacy."

Despite the extreme under-reporting of vaccinal adverse reactions, this report states on the second page that between April 1, 2004 and March 31, 2007, the Center for Veterinary Biologics, "nearly 10,000 adverse event reports (all animal species) were received by manufacturers of rabies vaccines..........Approximately 65% of the manufacturer's reports involved dogs."

The report further states on the second page that: "Rabies vaccines are the most common group of biological products identified in adverse event reports received by the CVB," and they give the following description of the adverse reaction followed by the % of dogs affected: Vomiting-28.1%, Facial Swelling-26.3%, Injection Site Swelling or Lump-19.4%, Lethargy-12%, Urticaria-10.1%, Circulatory shock-8.3%, Injection site pain-7.4%, Pruritus-7.4%, Injection site alopecia or hair loss-6.9%, Death-5.5%, Lack of Consciousness-5.5, Diarrhea-4.6%, Hypersensitivity (not specified)-4.6%, Fever-4.1%, Anaphylaxis-2.8%, Ataxia-2.8%, Lameness-2.8%, General signs of pain-2.3%, Hyperactivity-2.3%, Injection site scab or crust-2.3%, Muscle tremor-2.3%, Tachycardia-2.3%, and Thrombocytopenia-2.3%.

Veterinarians are not required by law to report adverse reactions to vaccines, to which the World Small Animal Veterinary Association stated in their 2007 Vaccine Guidelines that there is: "gross under-reporting of vaccine-associated adverse events which impedes knowledge of the ongoing safety of these products," and in an article entitled, A New Approach to Reporting Medication and Device Adverse Effects and Product Problems, (JAMA - June 2, 1993. Vol.269, No.21. p.2785) Dr. David Kessler, former head of the Food & Drug Administration, reported that "only about 1% of serious events are reported to the FDA."

In light of the 10,000 adverse reactions to the rabies vaccine in the JAVMA report, 65% of which were in dogs, the estimated 1% reporting of "serious" events by the former head of the FDA means that the actual number of dogs that had adverse reactions to the vaccine would be more like 650,000!!!!!

World Small Animal Veterinary Association 2007 Vaccine Guidelines http://www.wsava.org/SAC.htm Scroll down to Vaccine Guidelines 2007 (PDF)

A New Approach to Reporting Medication and Device Adverse Effects and Product Problems http://www.vaccinationnews.com/Adverse_ ... imates.htm Scroll down to David Kessler statement in JAMA - June 2, 1993,vol.269, No.21, p.2785

[Layla]

Funny you should post this. I've spent the last month trying to get Millie back on track after a rabies booster (titre showed almost NO immunity) She got an eye infection, behaviour changes, lost hair. I was so worried about her! SHe's been in to the holistic vet a couple of times and we did more thyroid panels as it's been reported that rabies vaccine can tip dogs into hypothyroid, physicals, etc etc . Thankfully, with homeopathy & detox we are back on track

[Kris L. Christine]

Millie is beautiful!

My son would do anything to have his hair stand on end like that! I've heard very good reports about homeopathic detox programs, I'm glad to hear that Millie's is beginning to work.

Personally, I think the adjuvants and mercury in the rabies vaccine are a serious problem.
Rabies, Leptospira, Lyme, are killed, adjuvanted vaccines. Adjuvants are vaccine components (such as aluminum hydroxide, aluminum phosphate) used to enhance the immunological response.

"The World Health Organization (WHO) in 1999 classified veterinary vaccine adjuvants as Class III/IV carcinogens with Class IV being the highest risk," IARC Monographs on the Evaluation of Carcinogenic Risks to Humans: Volume 74, World Health Organization, International Agency for Research on Cancer, Feb. 23-Mar. 2, 1999, p. 24, 305, 310.)

According to the 2003 American Animal Hospital Association's Canine Vaccine Guidelines http://www.leerburg.com/special_report.htm (Page 16), "...killed vaccines are much more likely to cause hypersensitivity reactions (e.g., immune-mediated disease)." Could this be due to the combination of mercury (thimersol) and aluminum additives in the same vaccine?

Mercury (Thimersol) is commonly found as a preservative in killed, adjuvanted veterinary vaccines. The combination of the mercury (thimersol) and adjuvant components (aluminum hydroxide, aluminum phosphate) in the same vaccine are of considerable concern because of the reactive properties of aluminum, especially when in contact with mercury (thimsersol).

Please see the information below, as well as a Congressional petition to remove aluminum additives in human vaccines. Remember, mercury (thimersol) is still used in veterinary vaccines along with aluminium.

________________________________________________________________________________
Mercury and aluminium http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mercuric

Aluminum amalgam http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mercury-aluminum_amalgam
"Due to the reactivity of aluminium amalgam, restrictions are placed on the use and handling of mercury in proximity with aluminium. In particular, mercury is not allowed aboard aircraft under most circumstances because of the risk of it forming amalgam with exposed aluminium parts in the aircraft. In the Second World War, mercury was used to sabotage aircraft."

Chemical Reactivity of Aluminum: http://www.sciencebyjones.com/chemical_reactivity.htm

Petition to Congress "Removal of Aluminum Additive in Vaccines Resolution and Petition" http://www.petitiononline.com/NoMadVac/petition.html "The combination of mercury plus aluminum is far worse than the sum of the two toxicities added together. The synergistic toxicity could be increased to unknown levels."

[Kris L. Christine]

More information specifically on the rabies vaccine can be found at the following links if you are interested to learn more:

Animal Wellness Magazine Article Vol. 8 Issue 6, How Often Does he REALLY Need A Rabies Shot Animal Wellness Magazine - devoted to natural health in animals

The Rabies Challenge Animal Wise Radio Interview
Listen to Animal Wise (scroll down to The Rabies Challenge 12/9/07)

The Vaccine Challenge Animal Talk Naturally Online Radio Show » The Vaccine Challenge - Show #91

US Declared Canine-Rabies Free -- CDC Announces at Inaugural World Rabies Day Symposium CDC Press Release - September 7, 2007

[Layla]

Thanks Christine. Those links are very informative.

[Kris L. Christine]

You're welcome, Layla!

Dr. Dodds and Dr. Schultz are remarkable.

Kris

[Kris L. Christine]

Channel 5 News WCVB Boston Woman: Rabies Shot Killed my Poodle May 28, 2008

http://www.thebostonchannel.com:80/news ... os&taf=bos

[CoraP.]

This is very scary to hear. It seems vets should be required to report all adverse reactions. Thanks for the information, Kris.

[wallacethegreat]

I have a lot of old dogs here now, including poor Berkley, the newly rescued Chow. I have a Golden Retriever, age 8-1/2; Bearded Collie, age 9-1/2 and Berkley who we all think is about 8. I have heard so many things about not vaccinating dogs when they are seniors...that the vaccines can cause serious problems. I had never thought about the rabies vaccines though. This is shocking!
I guess I should admit that I have not vaccinated ANY of the old guys (except for Berkley because they required it at the L.A kill-shelter before he could leave to come to New Mexico). I used to give all of them their shots myself, but stopped because I was afraid of fatal reactions in older dogs. I stopped vaccinating Wally at about 7 years old. He died at 13-1/2 from cancer, so I know he didn't get any weird disease.
I live in a mountain area in New Mexico so we do have wild things here that COULD carry rabies, but not enough to vaccinate for it. This post really opened my eyes about the potential hazards about the rabies vaccines. My guys are SO lucky. Neither Lucy, the new Anatolian, nor Berkley the Chow, had any adverse reactions to their required rabies vaccines, but I will certainly keep this in mind in the future.
Thanks you so much for this information. Knowing this could be life-saving.
Laura Mac, mama to Berkley-Bear and Oliver Wallace, my angel Chow

[Kris L. Christine]

LauraMac,

You're welcome. Older dogs who have been vaccinated according to the law probably have enormous titers. To fill you in on some more details on the number of adverse reactions to the rabies shot in dogs and titer counts, the information below may be of interest.

According to the The Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association's report Death was reported in 5.5% of the dogs suffering adverse reactions to rabies vaccination and declares that 6,500 adverse reactions to the rabies vaccine in dogs were reported to vaccine manufacturers, meaning 357.5 of the 6,500 dogs died. If that represents the 1% of serious vaccine adverse events that Dr. David Kessler, former head of the Food & Drug Administration, states get reported to the FDA, then the actual number of deaths would be 35,750.

Regarding the number of overall adverse reactions to the rabies vaccine, Dr. W. Jean Dodds states that "It has been estimated that the adverse reaction rate of serious nature to rabies vaccinations is in the order of 0.38- 0.50% , with another 1-3% of vaccinates experiencing less severe reactions of the millions of dogs that must be vaccinated by law annually."

Based on the American Veterinary Medical Association's estimate of 72 million dogs in the country, if all of them receive the rabies vaccinations required by law, that would translate into 273,600 to 360,000 dogs having an adverse reaction of a serious nature to the vaccine with another 720,000 to 2,160,000 dogs experiencing less severe reactions.

Again, the point being that there are significant adverse reactions associated with the rabies vaccine and they should not be given any more often than is necessary to maintain immunity.
What is needed to fix the situation is rabies immunization laws based on science demonstrating long-term duration of immunity to the rabies vaccine by challenge so that dogs are not required to have rabies boosters any more often than is necessary to maintain immunity -- which will protect the human population as well as them.

This becomes more interesting in drawing the analogy with human rabies vaccination. If you click on this link http://www.theodora.com/drugs/rabies_va ... hiron.html for the Populations at Risk for Rabies sheet from Chiron Corporation, manufacturers of the RabAvert rabies vaccines for humans. Their pre-exposure vaccination recommendation for veterinarians, who are at greater risk than the general population for contracting rabies because their profession brings them into physical contact with potentially rabid animals, is for a “Primary course. No serologic testing or booster vaccination.” In other words, after the initial series of rabies vaccinations, it is not recommended that veterinarians receive further boosters or serological testing.

The American Animal Hospital Association's 2003 Canine Vaccine Guidelines http://www.leerburg.com/special_report.htm reports on Page 18 that “There is no indication that the immune system of canine patients functions in any way different from the human immune system. In humans, the epidemiological vigilance associated with vaccination is extremely well-developed and far exceeds similar efforts in animals whether companion or agricultural. This vigilance in humans indicates that immunity induced by vaccination in humans is extremely long lasting and, in most cases, life-long.” This strongly suggests that, like the human rabies vaccine, the canine rabies vaccine may provide life-long immunity as well -- something which could be determined by long-term challenge studies.

A titer of 1:5 is considered adequate to confer immunity in humans and dogs, yet our dogs are required to be repeatedly boostered with the rabies vaccine no matter what their titer count is. At the age of 9, my Meadow qualified for a medical exemption under the law due to his metasticized cancer. He hadn't had a rabies booster since he was 6 years old and he had a titer count of 1:5,8000 -- more than 1,000 times the level at which he would be considered protected.

[Kris L. Christine]

LauraMac,

You're welcome. Older dogs who have been vaccinated according to the law probably have enormous titers. To fill you in on some more details on the number of adverse reactions to the rabies shot in dogs and titer counts, the information below may be of interest.

According to the The Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association's report Death was reported in 5.5% of the dogs suffering adverse reactions to rabies vaccination and declares that 6,500 adverse reactions to the rabies vaccine in dogs were reported to vaccine manufacturers, meaning 357.5 of the 6,500 dogs died. If that represents the 1% of serious vaccine adverse events that Dr. David Kessler, former head of the Food & Drug Administration, states get reported to the FDA, then the actual number of deaths would be 35,750.

Regarding the number of overall adverse reactions to the rabies vaccine, Dr. W. Jean Dodds states that "It has been estimated that the adverse reaction rate of serious nature to rabies vaccinations is in the order of 0.38- 0.50% , with another 1-3% of vaccinates experiencing less severe reactions of the millions of dogs that must be vaccinated by law annually."

Based on the American Veterinary Medical Association's estimate of 72 million dogs in the country, if all of them receive the rabies vaccinations required by law, that would translate into 273,600 to 360,000 dogs having an adverse reaction of a serious nature to the vaccine with another 720,000 to 2,160,000 dogs experiencing less severe reactions.

Again, the point being that there are significant adverse reactions associated with the rabies vaccine and they should not be given any more often than is necessary to maintain immunity.
What is needed to fix the situation is rabies immunization laws based on science demonstrating long-term duration of immunity to the rabies vaccine by challenge so that dogs are not required to have rabies boosters any more often than is necessary to maintain immunity -- which will protect the human population as well as them.

This becomes more interesting in drawing the analogy with human rabies vaccination. If you click on this link http://www.theodora.com/drugs/rabies_va ... hiron.html for the Populations at Risk for Rabies sheet from Chiron Corporation, manufacturers of the RabAvert rabies vaccines for humans. Their pre-exposure vaccination recommendation for veterinarians, who are at greater risk than the general population for contracting rabies because their profession brings them into physical contact with potentially rabid animals, is for a “Primary course. No serologic testing or booster vaccination.” In other words, after the initial series of rabies vaccinations, it is not recommended that veterinarians receive further boosters or serological testing.

The American Animal Hospital Association's 2003 Canine Vaccine Guidelines http://www.leerburg.com/special_report.htm reports on Page 18 that “There is no indication that the immune system of canine patients functions in any way different from the human immune system. In humans, the epidemiological vigilance associated with vaccination is extremely well-developed and far exceeds similar efforts in animals whether companion or agricultural. This vigilance in humans indicates that immunity induced by vaccination in humans is extremely long lasting and, in most cases, life-long.” This strongly suggests that, like the human rabies vaccine, the canine rabies vaccine may provide life-long immunity as well -- something which could be determined by long-term challenge studies.

A titer of 1:5 is considered adequate to confer immunity in humans and dogs, yet our dogs are required to be repeatedly boostered with the rabies vaccine no matter what their titer count is. At the age of 9, my Meadow qualified for a medical exemption under the law due to his metasticized cancer. He hadn't had a rabies booster since he was 6 years old and he had a titer count of 1:5,8000 -- more than 1,000 times the level at which he would be considered protected.

[Kris L. Christine]

Arkansas Veterinary Medical Association http://www.arkvetmed.org/new.html
RABIES VACCINATIONS
New Recommendations

Recommendations for maintaining adequate pre-exposure immunization status: A routine booster every two years is NOT recommended since the newer cell culture vaccines often confer adequate antibody levels for 5 to 8 years and risk of adverse reactions is increased by frequent boosters. The standard pre-exposure recommendation for veterinarians practicing in an area with enzootic rabies is serologic testing every two years with booster vaccination when the antibody titer falls below the acceptable level, i.e. 1:5 by RFFIT.

[Victory]

Unfortuneatly it isn't Vets the create the laws regarding rabies vacs, it's human health services that set the laws even how often the shots have to be given. If you live out on a farm somewhere or away from people then you can do without the shots. But if you live in a big city you run the risk of having your animal killed and disected if he/she is even suspected of biting someone. If you have the little piece of paper that shows they have a recent, (as in the law's specified time frame, for me it's every two years), then they will be held for observation and then released, especially if they didn't bite anyone but were only suspected of it.

Now lobbying the manufacturers of the vacine and vets for clean vacine, (without mercury and aluminum) that we might have a shot at.

[rufnedge-2]

So is there a test to determine if your dog had an adverse reaction? I took my girl to the vet earlier this year and when we got home her leg was twitching. I noticed one of the side effects listed on this post was muscle twitching. I correlated it to overheating. Maybe I was wrong.

[Kris L. Christine]

Victory,

Responding to being required to vaccine a dog every 2 years against rabies, please read the CDC's National Association of State Public Health Veterinarian's Compendium of Animal Rabies Prevention and Control 2008 http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/rr5702a1.htm . Especially note Part II B which states "No laboratory or epidemiologic data exist to support the annual or biennial administration of 3- or 4-year vaccines following the initial series."

[Kris L. Christine]

Judy Schor's agility champion, Peaches, suffered a significant adverse reaction to a rabies booster. Judy has posted photos of Peaches and a letter from the vaccine manufacturer, Fort Dodge, offering a settlement to pay for medical treatment if they not disclose information about the claim. You can read the letter and see photos of Peaches at this link: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2 ... 540&ref=mf .