August was National Immunization Awareness Month. A few months ago, I volunteered to write a short article about it. But I’ve been dragging my feet because… well…. it just sounds so boring.
But you know what’s not boring? RABIES. A universally fatal neurologic disease that can be transmitted by the invisible bite of a bat. Now that’s exciting.
What else? Distemper. You’re probably vaguely aware that your dog or cat gets a “distemper” shot. But you may not know that it protects against several different diseases that can cause serious respiratory, GI, or neurologic symptoms. These diseases often lead to death, especially in young or compromised patients. Not boring at all.
New to our list of core vaccines is Leptospirosis. Lepto is transmitted through water that has been contaminated by the urine of an infected animal. It can cause severe liver and kidney disease that can be fatal. It is also transmissible to humans. That’s the kind of exciting you’d like to avoid.
There are also vaccines available to protect against Lyme, influenza, Bordetella, and feline leukemia.
Think your pet doesn’t need vaccines? Or worried that vaccines aren’t safe for your pet? Let’s talk about it. Annual exams are a great time to talk about vaccines and assess risk factors to figure out what your pet needs.
Immunization is the boring kind of thing that is easy to forget about. But it helps keep your pet healthy and prevents some of the more exciting events that we’d rather avoid.
By Dr. Erika Nordgren