We have arrived in the New Year. Hopefully, many of our readers would have heeded our call to give a “forever home” to a companion animal from any of the Animal Shelters which have wonderful canines and felines up for adoption.
The last two columns dealt with animal care at Christmas and the happiness a family can experience by adding a pet to the household.
Now, in this first column for 2021, we must return to the more mundane discussions on animal ailments and their cures. Readers would have noticed that before we went into Christmas mode, we were discussing diseases for which vaccines exist.
Before we go any further with discussions on actual diseases affecting pets, it may be of greater value to spend some time dealing with vaccinations and immunity. Currently, these terms are being thrown around – fast and furious – not lastly because of the emergence of Corona Virus, a strain of which can affect canines, and against which veterinarians (including those in Guyana) have been vaccinating dogs for many years.
GENERAL COMMENTS
Infectious/Contagious Diseases in animals (and humans) can be caused by germs (viruses, bacteria, one celled organisms called protozoa, fungi, etc.). If dogs/cats/any pet animals remain unprotected, they could become ill and even die.
These germs can be transferred from one contaminated animal (a carrier) to a healthy animal via:
● Faeces (stool);
● Urine;
● Other germ-laden fluids (from the nostrils/eyes/mouth, ears), droplets of which can be inhaled;
● The genital tract during mating;
● Soil;
● Germs which can enter their bodies through damaged skin.
VACCINATION AND IMMUNITY
To understand the connection between vaccination and immunity, it is necessary to possess a certain base knowledge:
(i) When a germ enters the animal’s body, the animal’s defences are immediately alerted, and a reactionary process is initiated whereby several chemicals are released to respond and counter the intruder. In effect, the animal is creating specific chemical reactions, i.e., antibodies, to not only deal with the current uninvited alien interloper with bad intentions, but to also ensure future protection against reinfection. This system/process is called Active Immunity.
(ii) Active Immunity can also be achieved by Vaccination. The functional efficacy, over time, decreases in potency. It is for this reason (among others) that several vaccinations are administered during the recommended “primary course” and the annual “Booster Shots”.
(iii) Antibodies are very specific in their action. They will attack and destroy only that type of germ which had originally stimulated their creation.
(iv) There is also a Passive Immunity, which can be acquired by the pup/kitten from the mother dog/cat, which might have had previously acquired immunity after a germ encounter, or via vaccination. This immunity is passed on to the pup via the milk during suckling (especially during the first 2-3 days of nursing).
This type of immunity (protection) does not last a long time (not much more than 4 months). Also, it is species-bound. “Rover”, the dog, cannot catch a disease and create immunity from a horse. Of course, some diseases are not species-specific, and can cause illness, even kill individuals belonging to several varying species. Tetanus, for example, springs to mind.
In passing (and for the especially erudite), I should mention that there is another method of providing Passive Immunity (Passive Antibodies). We veterinarians can administer serum from another dog which has a high level of type-specific antibodies. But we don’t usually do this, simply because it is so simple to introduce the vaccination schedule, which we will be discussing next week.
(v) It is important that I mention that :
(a) A caregiver must tell the vet if the mother dog was recently mated. The manufacturers of the vaccines, as well as veterinarians, go to great lengths to inform that a pregnant dog can lose her pups if vaccinated during pregnancy.
(b) It is imperative that the puppies must not be vaccinated before they are 6 weeks of age.
(vi) Having documented (i) to (v) above, it must be made clear that malnourished, infirm, ailing, anemic puppies/dogs/cats/kittens might not be capable of producing antibodies and/or building a solid immune response to invading germs. Your vet will decide how to handle such cases. And, of course, puppies/kittens (as mentioned above) should not ever be vaccinated below 3 to 4 weeks of age.
To all pet owners and caregivers, please accept our very best wishes for 2021
