Levittown Animal Hospital Blog

There was a local news report last night about dogs dying from canine influenza and how they all need to be protected with this new vaccine.  It was your typical media scare-tactic garbage to generate an audience …and it did lead to my office phone ringing off the hook this morning.  Does your dog need to be vaccinated with Intervet’s new flu vaccine?  The short answer is NO. 

This time last year, I helped diagnose and treat an outbreak of canine influenza at a nearby dog boarding facility.  We tested several symptomatic dogs via PCR and confirmed influenza as the infectious agent.  In defiance of any media scare (both then and now) none of the cases were fatal.  Zero.  Some got pretty sick, but most presented like your typical kennel cough case.

In general, this virus can present itself in two forms: mild and severe.  The mild form is often self-limiting, and may require only isolation of the dog and supportive care.  I prescribed a 10-day course of Doxycycline to those dogs presenting with mild clinical signs.  With the severe form, dogs tend to be much sicker –their clinical signs include fever, anorexia and lethargy.  Treatment again is largely supportive: rest, nutritional support, and fluid support when needed.  I prescribed a 14-day (or more) course of both Doxycycline and Clindamycin to these dogs.  I used conservative doses of cough suppressants only in cases of severe coughing that affects the patient’s ability to sleep and/or breathe.

Canine influenza is easily killed by most disinfectants and does not survive well outside the host. Household bleach can be used for disinfecting contaminated utensils and the premises. Dilute ½ cup of bleach in 1 gallon of water to make an effective disinfectant solution with a shelf life of about 24 hours.  Regular disinfecting of cages, kennels, feeding utensils etc, and regular hand-washing by people handling infected dogs is advised.

So what issues do I have with the new vaccine?

1. It’s a new product, without a proven track record.  It has been made available under conditional license.  Safety was established in trials involving about 700 dogs.  Not enough to make me feel comfortable using it.
2. It’s an adjuvanted vaccine, making it more likely to cause a post-injection adverse reaction, especially when administered with other vaccines.
3. It’s not an intranasal vaccine, so it will, like just about any injectable vaccine, result in more IgM antibodies than IgA …which translates into less local immunity in the nasal mucosa.  (Yes, this is an over-simplified explanation.)
4. It is only labeled to help control the clinical signs associated with infection.  This means that vaccinated dogs might still get a mild case and could still shed the virus, spreading it to other dogs.
5. Most pet dogs are not at high risk for exposure to canine influenza.  The disease will have its greatest impact in shelter environments or boarding kennels.

I will not be buying the vaccine to use in my hospital anytime soon.  You should speak with your regular veterinarian to see what your dog’s level of risk is.