STEEL CROSS SHEPHERDS

VACCINES REVISITED

You have just received a postcard from your family veterinarian with the reminder that your dog or cat is due for the annual vaccination or booster shot.

These injections, most commonly given as modified live vaccines (MLVs), are often several diseases combined into one shot. Dogs are vaccinated as puppies, then annually for distemper (D), measles (M), adenovirus (hepatitis), leptospirosis (L), parainfluenza (P) and parvo (P), referred to as DA2LP-P, 5-in-1 or 7-in-1. Cats are vaccinated as kittens, then annually for panleukopenia (feline distemper), viral rhinotracheitis, calici virus, feline parvo and chlamydia.

Recent research suggests that automatically giving annual, multiple-disease boosters may contribute to immune suppression and trigger the beginning of chronic diseases such as arthritis, autoimmune disease, diabetes, epilepsy and cancer. Many respected, research veterinarians say that there is no proof that yearly vaccines are necessary or that they improve an animal's immunity. According to Kirks Current Veterinary Tberapy XI, one of the leading reference manuals for practicing veterinarians, annual revaccination of dogs and cats "lacks scientific validity and verification .... Almost without exception there is no immunological requirement for revaccination." Think about it: We don't inoculate ourselves with polio, diphtheria, whooping cough, measles and mumps vaccines every year. Why should we be doing it to our animals?

Some Background Information

IN THE 19TH CENTURY, Louis Pasteur claimed that germs invaded the body and caused disease. Meanwhile a contemporary, Antoine Beauchamp, claimed that germs were everywhere and whenever the body's own system was run down or susceptible, germs would invade and diseases would develop. Although Pasteur would later retract his germ theory and state that the real key to disease was the "internal environment," his original theory became the guiding light for medicine and the basis for the development of vaccines as well as of germ-oriented, antimicrobial therapy (antibiotics). Scientific research is now exploring Beauchamp's original theory and questioning whether the medical basis for vaccines may have been built on a flawed theory, one that overlooked the immune system.

In the 1970s, medical researchers, G. Dettman and A. Kalokerinos, reported their work with Australian Aborigines where they proved the immune-suppressing effects of vaccinations in Aboriginal children; they discovered that the infant mortality rate was markedly increased with the introduction of mass vaccinations.

Dr. Fred Klenner, an associate of Linus Pauling, was involved in the study of the immune-stimulating effects of vitamin C. He theorized that the rapid rise in infant leukemia was the direct result of the introduction of mass vaccinations of children for polio. (Dr. Jonas Salk developed the killed vaccine and Dr. Albert Sabine developed the live vaccine.) He claimed that the modified-live polio vaccine had far-reaching, devastating effects on people and he linked the vaccine directly to many chronic diseases, and in particular, leukemia.

Injection - The Unnatural Route

HOMEOPATHS AND ALTERNATIVE-MINDED veterinarians and physicians believe that vaccines may overwhelm the immune system. Normally, when a body is exposed to foreign materials and diseases through the skin, ingestion or inhalation, the body has an opportunity to react and destroy the invader using white blood cells and producing anti-bodies to establish a true natural immunity. On the other hand, when an artificial disease is injected, bypassing the body's normal defense mechanism its natural filter - the immune system may be weakened or overwhelmed, setting the stage for degenerative disease. For example, every year in the U.S., it is estimated that one in 10,000 cats will get vaccine-induced fibro-sarcoma, an extremely resistant, aggressive and deadly cancer.

Minimizing the Side Effects of Vaccines

*** Do not start the vaccine program too early. A young immune system is more susceptible to the adverse effects

of vaccines. In addition, the antibodies found in mother's milk will protect a kitten or puppy for two to three months. Start vaccinations between eight and nine weeks of age (never before six weeks).

*** Vaccinate only for the important infectious diseases.

Be selective, depending on the area in which you live and the likelihood of your animal being exposed to other animals. Decide with your veterinarian which vaccines are absolutely necessary (a core vaccination program). Vaccinations for Lyme disease, kennel cough, FIP and feline leukernia, for example, are not part of a core program and should be avoided.

***Minimize the number of diseases per shot and the number of shots per visit.

To achieve optimal immunity, give the least number of vaccines at any one time and give one shot per office call. Multiple vaccinations confuse and overwork the immune system. Monovalent (single disease) vaccines are available from the manufacturers although your veterinarian may have to special order them.

*** Spread out the shots as much as possible.

Wait three weeks between visits and give the immune system a chance to respond and recover before the next vaccine. This will help the immune system to stay in balance and prevent burnout.

*** Give the vaccine in a different spot each time.

Note in your animal's record where each vaccine is given, e.g. left shoulder, right hind.

*** Use killed vaccines whenever possible and modified-live vaccines only when there are no alternatives, because modified-live vaccines can replicate, cause a disease and be more stressful to the immune system. There have also been reports of these viruses being shed in the urine.

*** Check your animal's antibody titer before giving a particular vaccine

After a kitten or a puppy has received the initial series, the immunity will last for varying lengths of time(sometimes for many years, even for the life of the animal) depending on the animal and the health of the immune system. For this reason, a full round of vaccinations every year is often not necessary. With a simple blood test, your veterinarian can determine the antibody levels for any particular disease. If the immunity remains strong, do not revaccinate.

***Use a homeopathic remedy.

Thuja occidentalis (Thuja 30C), a homeopathic remedy, can counteract or minimize the adverse effects of vaccines. It can be purchased from a health food store or a holistic veterinarian. For one disease, give one to three pellets once, for two diseases, give one to three pellets once daily for three days, and for five diseases, give one to three pellets once daily for five days. In all cases, start the doses one day after the vaccine. Put the pellets into the vial cap. (Do not touch with your hands.) Drop them onto a folded piece of white paper and crush, then pour the powder onto the animal's tongue or into the space between the lip and gum. Do not add homeopathic remedies to food as they will lose their effectiveness. Give one hour before or after meals.

***Sources

"Current Concepts" in The Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association, 15 August 1995, 207(4), pp. 421-425.  Dodds, W.J., "Vaccine Related Issues" in Allen Schoen and Susan Wynn, Complementary and Alternative Veterinary Medicine, Principles and Practice,Mosby, St. Louis, 1998, p. 701.   Kalokerinos, A. and Dettman, G., "Second Thoughts About Disease: A Controversy and Beauchamp Revisited" in The Journal of the International Academy of Preventive Medicine, July 1977.    Phillips, T. and Shultz, R., "Canine and Feline Vaccines" in Kirk's Current Veterinary Therapy XI, Small Animal Practice, 1992, p. 205.

Dr. Robert Goldstein, VMD, is a holistic veterinarian with more than 30 years of experience. He is an expert in immuno-aug- mentative therapy and pioneered cryosurgery, a surgical technique for treating malignant tumors. Now C.E.O. of Bio Nutritional Diagnostics, Inc., Dr. Goldstein is director of Northern Skies Veterinary Center in Westport, CT. Susan Goldstein is editor of Love of Animals, Natural Care and Healing for Dogs and Cats, V.R and Chairman of Bio Nutritional Diagnostics, Inc. and owner of Earth Animal. She has been working with alternative therapies and animals for 30 years.

THIS ARTICLE HAS BEEN PROVIDED TO YOU IN IT'S ENTIRETY FROM ANIMAL MAGAZINE VOLUME2, ISSUE 3.

BACK

Capture the Spirit of Your Loving Pet and Enjoy Memories for a Lifetime