The State of Arkansas is considering changing the state's annual rabies immunization requirement for dogs to the 3 year standard. The Department of Health has discussed this with veterinarians and will be sending something to the Governor for his consideration.
Please contact the Arkansas State Public Health Veterinarian, Dr. Susan Weinstein at 501-280-4136 or susan.weinstein@arkansas.gov and let them know you want to see the laws changed to the national 3 year standard! Ask your dog-owning friends to do the same.
None too soon. Our vet has marked our registration with the next due date being 2011..... now if they city will just abide by that.
Thanks for the updates Kris.
You're welcome for the updates! If you live in Arkansas or know any dog owners who do, make sure they contact the State Public Health Veterinarian about this. I'll keep you posted as things progress.
don't know if it is just local or statewide, but where i live in michigan, it is 1 year rabies the first time for the dog and then the next time it is 3 year rabies
Below is a copy of my letter on behalf of The Rabies Challenge Fund to the Arkansas Governor and Attorney General. What You Can Do to Help:
Contact the Arkansas Legislature http://www.arkleg.state.ar.us/
(full e-mail list at the bottom of this message) and ask them to pass the 3 year rabies legislation when it is introduced and request that a medical exemption clause for sick animals be included.
October 5, 2008
Governor Mike Beebe Attorney General Dustin McDaniel
Governor’s Office Office of the Attorney General State Capitol Room 250 323 Center Street, Suite 200
Little Rock, AR 72201 Little Rock, AR 72201
RE: ARKANSAS RABIES IMMUNIZATION PROTOCOL
The Rabies Challenge Fund Charitable Trust has been made aware that the State of Arkansas is considering adoption of the 3-year rabies immunization protocol recommended by the Center for Disease Control’s National Association of State Public Health Veterinarians and the American Veterinary Medical Association[1] to replace the State’s current annual requirement. Not only does The Rabies Challenge Fund endorse adoption of the national 3-year standard, but we strongly encourage Arkansas to include a medical exemption clause for sick animals, for which vaccination is medically contraindicated.
It is recognized that most, if not all, currently licensed annual rabies vaccines given annually are actually the 3-year vaccine relabeled for annual use -- Colorado State University's Small Animal Vaccination Protocol for its veterinary teaching hospital states: “Even with rabies vaccines, the label may be misleading in that a three year duration of immunity product may also be labeled and sold as a one year duration of immunity product.”According to Dr. Ronald Schultz of the University of Wisconsin School of Veterinary Medicine, whose canine vaccine studies form a large part of the scientific base for the 2003 and 2006 American Animal Hospital Association’s (AAHA) Canine Vaccine Guidelines as well as the World Small Animal Veterinary Association’s (WSAVA) 2007 Vaccine Guidelines, “There is no benefit from annual rabies vaccination and most one year rabies products are similar or identical to the 3-year products with regard to duration of immunity and effectiveness.”[2]
Section 20-19-202 of Arkansas’ Rabies Law requiring annual rabies boosters may have been intended to achieve enhanced immunity to rabies virus by giving the vaccine more often than the federal 3-year licensening standard. But, more frequent vaccination than is required to fully immunize an animal will notachieve further disease protection. Redundant annual rabies shots needlessly expose dogs and cats to the risk of adverse effects while obligating residents to pay unnecessary veterinary medical fees. The American Veterinary Medical Association's 2001 Principles of Vaccination state that “Unnecessary stimulation of the immune system does not result in enhanced disease resistance, and may increase the risk of adverse post-vaccination events.” The law, as it currently reads, may violate Arkansas Consumer Protection Laws 4-88-107 and 4-88-108 by requiring pet owners to pay for a yearly veterinary medical procedure from which their animals derive no benefit and may be harmed. The fact that the rabies vaccine confers a minimum duration of immunity of 3 years is “concealed” or “omitted” from consumers (pet owners). Compliance with Section 20-19-202 of the Rabies Law places veterinarians in the uneasy position of “Over-treating patients” -- an apparent violation of Section 17-101-305 (a)(17) of the Arkansas Veterinary Medical Practice Act.
Immunologically, the rabies vaccine is the most potent of the veterinary vaccines and associated with significant adverse reactions such as polyneuropathy “resulting in muscular atrophy, inhibition or interruption of neuronal control of tissue and organ function, incoordination, and weakness,”[3] auto-immune hemolytic anemia,[4]autoimmune diseases affecting the thyroid, joints, blood, eyes, skin, kidney, liver, bowel and central nervous system; anaphylactic shock; aggression; seizures; epilepsy; and fibrosarcomas at injection sites are all linked to the rabies vaccine.[5][6] It is medically unsound for this vaccine to be given more often than is necessary to maintain immunity.
A “killed” vaccine, the rabies vaccine contains adjuvants to enhance the immunological response. In 1999, the World Health Organization " classified veterinary vaccine adjuvants as Class III/IV carcinogens with Class IV being the highest risk,"[7]and the results of a study published in the August 2003 Journal of Veterinary Medicine documenting fibrosarcomas at the presumed injection sites of rabies vaccines stated, “In both dogs and cats, the development of necrotizing panniculitis at sites of rabies vaccine administration was first observed by Hendrick & Dunagan (1992).”[8] According to the 2003AAHAGuidelines, "...killed vaccines are much more likely to cause hypersensitivity reactions (e.g., immune-mediated disease)."
The labels on rabies vaccines state that they are for “the vaccination of healthycats, dogs…,” and there are medical conditions for which vaccination can jeopardize the life or well-being of an animal. A medical exemption clause inserted into the new 3 year Rabies Law being considered would allow veterinarians to write waivers for animals for whom medical conditions preclude vaccination. The State of Maine inserted such an exemption into the 3 year rabies protocol, 7 M.R.S.A., Sec. 3922(3), it adopted in 2004 as follows:
A. A letter of exemption from vaccination may be submitted for licensure, if a medical reason exists that precludes the vaccination of the dog. Qualifying letters must be in the form of a written statement, signed by a licensed veterinarian, that includes a description of the dog, and the medical reason that precludes vaccination. If the medical reason is temporary, the letter shall indicate a time of expiration of the exemption.
B. A dog exempted under the provisions of paragraph 5 A, above, shall be considered unvaccinated, for the purposes of 10-144 C.M.R. Ch.251, Section 7(B)(1), (Rules Governing Rabies Management) in the case of said dog’s exposure to a confirmed or suspect rabid animal.
The Rabies Challenge Fund strongly supports a change in the Arkansas Rabies Law to conform to the 3-year national standard and respectfully requests that medical exemption language be inserted into the law.
cc: Arkansas State Legislature
Richard Bell, Secretary, Arkansas Department of Agriculture
Dr. Susan Weinstein, Arkansas Public Health Veterinarian
Dr. W. Jean Dodds, Co-Trustee of The Rabies Challenge Fund
Dr. Ronald Schultz, University of Wisconsin School of Veterinary Medicine
[1] National Association of State Public Health Veterinarian's 2008 Compendium of Animal Rabies Prevention and Control, pp. 3, 6-7
[3] Dodds, W. Jean Vaccination Protocols for Dogs Predisposed to Vaccine Reactions, The Journal of the American Animal Hospital Association, May/June 2001, Vol. 37, pp. 211-214
[4] Duval D., Giger U.Vaccine-Associated Immune-Mediated Hemolytic Anemia in the Dog, Journal of Veterinary Internal Medicine 1996; 10:290-295
[5]American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) Executive Board, April 2001, Principles of Vaccination, Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association, Volume 219, No. 5, September 1, 2001.
[6]Vascelleri, M. Fibrosarcomas at Presumed Sites of Injection in Dogs: Characteristics and Comparison with Non-vaccination Site Fibrosarcomas and Feline Post-vaccinal Fibrosarcomas; Journal of Veterinary Medicine, Series A August 2003, vol. 50, no. 6, pp. 286-291.
[7] IARC Monographs on the Evaluation of Carcinogenic Risks to Humans: Volume 74, World Health Organization, International Agency for Research on Cancer, Feb. 23-Mar. 2, 1999, p. 24, 305, 310.
[8]AmericanAnimalHospital Association Canine Vaccine Task Force. 2003 Canine Vaccine Guidelines, Recommendations, and Supporting Literature , 28pp.; and ibid. 2006 AAHA Canine Vaccine Guidelines, Revised, 28 pp.
I live in Michigan and I have the option to get my dogs a yearly or go for the three year.
It is only 7.00 for the rabie shot for each dog for a one year and $5.00 for the license. So it costs me $24.00 to get there shots and licenses. I dont mind going every year to renew this.
The canine rabies vaccine has a minimum duration of immunity of 3 years -- your dogs will be protected if they have the booster only once every 3 years. Giving them an annual booster does not increase their protection any more than giving yourself an annual tetanus booster.
California has had the 3-year rabies vaccination for many years. I was shocked and dismayed when I moved to Texas to find that I had to have my dogs vaccinated against rabies every year. I am concerned about the dangers of overvaccination, but my vet's hands were tied, as she felt obligated to follow the law. I know that areas of Texas had/have a rabies problem, but overvaccinating the small number of dogs and cats that ever went to a vet clinic was not the answer!
A change in state law to allow pet owners to vaccinate their dogs and cats against rabies every three years instead of one may be part of the state Health Department's legislative package next year.
When asked if she thought changing the law was a good idea, Weinstein said, "I would have no problem," because "the science of vaccination has changed."
"Weinstein" in the quote above refers to Dr. Susan Weinstein, the Arkansas State Public Health Veterinarian.
"LITTLE ROCK -- Arkansas and Alabama are the only states that still require annual rabies vaccinations for dogs and cats, but that could change in the 2009 session."
Recommendations for maintaining adequate pre-exposure immunization status: A routine booster every two years is NOT recommended since the newer cell culture vaccines often confer adequate antibody levels for 5 to 8 years and risk of adverse reactions is increased by frequent boosters. The standard pre-exposure recommendation for veterinarians practicing in an area with enzootic rabies is serologic testing every two years with booster vaccination when the antibody titer falls below the acceptable level, i.e. 1:5 by RFFIT.
Arkansas News 2/2/09 http://arkansasnews.com/?s=rob+moritz&x=0&y=0&=Go "The senate also gave final legislative approval to House Bill 1274 by Rep. Pam Adcock, D-Little Rock, which would modernize the state’s rabies vaccination laws. Under the bill, rabies vaccinations for dogs and cats would be required every three years, rather than every year under current law."
"The updated Rabies Control Act has new rules passed by the State Board of Health that allow for a longer interval between rabies vaccinations for dogs and cats. The new rules will become effective January 1, 2010.
If a three-year vaccine is chosen, the pet will be required to be revaccinated three years later."
All 50 states have now adopted the 3 year protocol, Rhode Island still hasn't set an effective date for their change, but I would hope it would be soon.
I guess I'm still not clear on parts of this subject.
Are there two different rabies vaccinations.... a one year duration and a three year duration? Or are we getting the three year duration misrepresented as a one year? And are titers required every year where the three year vaccinations are given?
I really dislike getting these shots every year if they are not necessary. Yet here in Illinois we are forced to.........and any discussions regarding changes to this practice result in deaf ears from the vets.
I guess I'm still not clear on parts of this subject.
Are there two different rabies vaccinations.... a one year duration and a three year duration? Or are we getting the three year duration misrepresented as a one year?
Yes, for dogs there are 1 year rabies vaccines and 3 year. There is a 4 year rabies vaccine for felines only.
According to Dr. Ronald Schultz of the University of Wisconsin School of Veterinary Medicine, "There is no benefit from annual rabies vaccination and most one year rabies products are similar or identical to the 3-year products with regard to duration of immunity and effectiveness. However, if they are 1 year rabies vaccines, they must be legally given annually!"from What Everyone Needs to Know about Canine Vaccines http://www.puliclub.org/CHF/AKC2007Conf/What Everyone Needs to Know About Canine Vaccines.htm
If you click on this link http://www.calmanimalcare.com/vaccine.htm , you will be taken to the Calm Animal Care website, which has posted Colorado State University's Small Animal Vaccination Protocol for its veterinary teaching hospital. In their protocol, it states: "Even with rabies vaccines, the label may be misleading in that a three year duration of immunity product may also be labeled and sold as a one year duration of immunity product."
Yes, Adriennelane, Arkansas did pass the 3 year protocol last February, it will become effective January 1, 2010 and cats will be allowed to use the 4 year rabies vaccine for boosters.
Yes, our vet told us the vaccines are the same just labelled differently! BTW, we've changed vets over this issue. Make sure you go to the vet armed with information and be ready to be your dog's (3 year) advocate. Many vets insist on vax'ing yearly... they earn a sizeable portion of their income doing so. Just remember you are your dog's voice and over vaccinating is a terrible assault to the immune system. Your vet is working for YOU and as the consumer you have every right to insist on a 3 year protocol ( in areas where the law is such). Can you tell I've walked this road with an immune compromised pupper??? I'm usually one who avoids confrontations, except when it comes to my kids ( human, canine, or grand)!!
Yes, our vet told us the vaccines are the same just labelled differently! BTW, we've changed vets over this issue. Make sure you go to the vet armed with information and be ready to be your dog's (3 year) advocate. Many vets insist on vax'ing yearly... they earn a sizeable portion of their income doing so. Just remember you are your dog's voice and over vaccinating is a terrible assault to the immune system. Your vet is working for YOU and as the consumer you have every right to insist on a 3 year protocol ( in areas where the law is such). Can you tell I've walked this road with an immune compromised pupper??? I'm usually one who avoids confrontations, except when it comes to my kids ( human, canine, or grand)!!
Thanks Kris for the information! You mentioned that all 50 states have adopted the 3 year protocol. Then why am I required to vaccinate my guys every year? I intend to do some investigating at the local and county level to find out why. Between now and next December I hope to be adequately informed regarding this issue so I can prevent the needless vaccinations.
I think we all have to look at the wording of the law in your state. I was reading Arkansas' law, and the state law does not displace local laws. That means in my city, I still have to vaccinate every year.
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