Benefits outweigh risks when vaccinating your animals

I would like to set some facts straight in regards to the letter to the editor regarding vaccines for dogs.

*Parvo virus in dogs is a mutation of the actual feline distemper VIRUS, and it is not associated with the vaccine for feline distemper. Just like flu viruses can mutate in people, viruses in animals can do the same thing.

*The parvo virus vaccine is a modified live virus (MLV) vaccine, not a live virus. The MLV cannot give the animal the disease since the virus has been modified.

*Since veterinary clinics are very aware of the disease, any potentially infected dog is isolated and the premises disinfected thoroughly. A dog is more likely to be exposed to the virus from another infected dog, or through

the feces in the environment.

When the disease first showed up in the late 70s, the losses were devastating.  I watched my own adult dog succumb to the virus even with intensive treatment (this was before the advent of a vaccine). The incidence of this infection, and other viruses like canine and feline distemper and feline leukemia, has been substantially decreased through vaccination.

Vaccination for your dog, particularly puppies, against canine parvovirus is recommended.  The benefit far outweighs any potential risks.

Kathryn Hawkins, DVM

Thompson Falls Veterinary Clinic