A perspective on vaccine guidelines and titer tests for dogs

摘要

In 1982, the AVMA's Council on Biologic and Therapeutic Agents (COBTA) issued guidelines with recommendations for immunizations to control common infectious diseases of dogs and cats. Over the ensuing 21 years, additional guidelines by that AVMA council and other groups have been published. Despite these reports, the light at the end of the tunnel has not yet been illuminated for many practitioners. In fact, many practitioners are now more confused about what vaccination strategy is right for them than they were before such guidelines were available. To cloud the issue even further, in-house laboratory tests with high sensitivity and specificity are available to practitioners to determine whether dogs have protective concentrations of antibody to important pathogens such as canine distemper virus (CDV) and canine parvovirus (CPV). This commentary addresses several vaccination guidelines for CDV and CPV and evaluates the potential role of titer testing when there is uncertainty as to the need for vaccinating against CDV and CPV infections.