Lepto vaccine

[Shaz82]

Having seen some worrying remarks on the BARF facebook feed about Lepto 2 and 4 vaccinations, I checked Maisy's vaccine record as she is due her boosters soon. She has had a Lepto jab already and will be getting another one in May but I am really worried about that now. Some people are saying they can cause death, the government even has a page online about reassuring people about the risk. Leptospira vaccination in dogs.

Does anyone have any opinions on this, do you let your dogs have this jab?

 

[kateincornwall]

I think we will always have cases of bad reactions to something or other , so I suppose its a calculated risk we take ? Reuben has had the Lepto vaccination , as a healthy young dog , but as a not so healthy dog with brain issues, Nelly hasn't had it .

 

[Anne123]

In Holland they take some blood and see if their status is still ok. They won’t be giving any vaccine antil the status is too low. Is this a possibility for you?

 

[Shaz82]

I think we will always have cases of bad reactions to something or other , so I suppose its a calculated risk we take ? Reuben has had the Lepto vaccination , as a healthy young dog , but as a not so healthy dog with brain issues, Nelly hasn't had it .

Thanks Kate, there are so many risks we have to worry about I know. I should ask the vet I suppose but I don't have the best of faith in mine.
I need to think on it.

 

[Shaz82]

In Holland they take some blood and see if their status is still ok. They won’t be giving any vaccine antil the status is too low. Is this a possibility for you?

I can mention this when I go, as Kate says, a healthy dog is less likely to be at risk. Thanks. Hope Finn is ok.

 

[Joy]

If my vet recommends it, I go with the vaccine. People on social media are sometimes irrationally anti vaccination. I think they forget how dreadful the illnesses are that vaccines protect against. The risk of an adverse reaction is tiny. If you don't trust your vet then I'd think about changing to another practice.

 

[Beanwood]

Reading the article it states "Based on the most recent periodic safety update report data received for each product, the incidence of adverse animal reactions for all L2 vaccine products combined is 0.015%; for L4 vaccine products this figure is 0.069%. "

So what does that mean? Gov.uk explains this further....

"In other words, the VMD has received fewer than 2 adverse reactions for L2, and fewer than 7 for L4, for every 10,000 doses sold. This includes every suspected adverse event reported, even cases that were considered unclassifiable or were later found to be unrelated to the vaccine. "

Generally, any illness reported immediately post-vaccine is reported as an adverse event, even if later it is shown not to be related. An example would be an eye infection pops up a day later, however on further investigation, it was caused by a small trauma, this would still be classed as an adverse event IF the owner reported it.

Personally, I would base my judgement re vaccination based on sound facts and not social media.

 

[Shaz82]

If my vet recommends it, I go with the vaccine. People on social media are sometimes irrationally anti vaccination. I think they forget how dreadful the illnesses are that vaccines protect against. The risk of an adverse reaction is tiny. If you don't trust your vet then I'd think about changing to another practice.

I am currently looking at other vets, I would like to be able to trust them completely and I don't at the moment because they have done several things unnecessarily. It is one particular vet but I don't want to have to ask not to see them each time. Any way, yes the risk of some illnesses is more than the vaccine reaction, I would have liked to have been told the risks though at the time.

 

[Shaz82]

Personally, I would base my judgement re vaccination based on sound facts and not social media.

Thanks for the stats @Beanwood, that makes me feel better as the adverse reactions are very low. I would not take any personal opinions on social media as sound facts though, but it got me worrying as I had not heard of this problem.

 

[snowbunny]

I have no choice about vaccinating my dogs, so I've not looked into it in any detail. Luna's breeder does not vaccinate against lepto once they are past the puppy stage. Her reasoning is that lepto is incredibly rare - to be fair, I can't remember the last time that I heard of a dog with lepto? - but she has had dogs have reactions to the lepto vaccine.

Just anecdotal, obviously, but if I were in your position and trying to make a decision, I'd look at how many cases of leptospirosis there are in your area each year and take that into consideration, along with any moral and social obligation to vaccinate to protect immuno-compromised animals who can't be.

 

[Atemas]

Both my dogs have had the Lepto vaccinations. I listened to our vet and placed my trust in her. She did the Lepto 2 this time not the Leoto 4 that my previous vets were insistent on.

 

[Selina27]

I'd look at how many cases of leptospirosis there are in your area each year and take that into consideration,

Yes, and the vets should know the risk in the area their practice covers, and offer advice according. Apparently I live in a high risk area, where dogs do die of Lepto, although I do not have the figures but I guess I could find out. It is likely to be so as it is a very rural area, where dogs particularly on farms can have access places where rats have been active. And my vet -- who I do trust -- tells me that dogs that swim a lot are more at risk than those that don't.

 

[Jen]

I always just get Stanley vaccinated.

The amount of dogs that get vaccinated annually vs the amount who experience problems shows the risk is relatively small.

He has to have a full vaccination record for his dog walker as well.

 

[Cupcase]

I no longer vaccinate and no I'm not anti vaccine. I titre tested both dogs when Cupar turned one, both dogs are showing immunity for the three core vaccines.
I decided as there is no incidence of lepto in my area that I would not vaccinate for that. I am aware of the symptoms, so if any of my dogs were showing them, I would know to get that checked first.

 

[Atemas]

tells me that dogs that swim a lot are more at risk than those that don't.

Yes my vet told me that to.

live in a high risk area,

Ours is a low risk area. My previous vets should have been aware of that but they still did the Lepto 4

have a full vaccination record

Yes our dogs do for the kennels

 

[Selina27]

I titre tested

I think I will ask my surgery about having this done.

 

[Cupcase]

I think I will ask my surgery about having this done.

I don't think you can titre for lepto. Parvo etc you can.
Some vets do vaccicheck which is the cheapest and can be tested in vets practice, my vet doesn't offer this but it was important to me to know whether I should get Cupar his first year vaccines. He had had been taking some kind of turns.
So I paid £60 each dog to get their blood taken and sent out to get tested. This really reassured me that it was unnecessary to vaccinate.