Government response on cat and dog vaccination

British government responds to report on cat and dog vaccines

source: Veterinary Record vol 153 no 2, July 12 2003
starts p35, 2 pages long

The British government has backed recommendations made by a working group on vaccination for cats and dogs. The group was set up in 1999 to assess health risks arising from vaccinations. The government supports 15 of the 19 recommendations made by the group, including a recommendation that more research be carried out into links between upper respiratory tract problems in cats, and feline calcivirus vaccination. The working group called for product literature to carry statements that the duration of immunity used for booster vaccination regimes is a minimum, rather than a maximum period. The group also called for a risk-benefit analysis to be carried out for individual pets, by vets together with the pets' owners. The government sees professional development among vets as the best way to spread information, rather than through product literature. The government also claims that it encourages voluntary disclosure of information to vets and the public. The government rejected a recommendation for generic warnings to be put on injectable vaccines for cats, relating to the possible higher risk of sarcomas developing after aluminium-adjuvanted vaccines. The government argues that there is not yet enough evidence to link specific vaccines, or types of vaccines to fibrosarcomes.
CA,HD