Vaccines vary in how long they last.  They vary according to how they
made (the old types which were grown in eggs had longer effectiveness in
ferrets.  (There actually was such testing then because a number of the
vax for dogs were developed in ferrets back then.  See Fox _Biology and
Diseases of the Ferret_.)  They differ across species and across vaccine
types.  When vaccines were being tested to see which rabies vaccines
would work in ferrets one of the ones which worked protected the
ferrets for all of 6 months and no more.  It was a vaccine which lasts
considerably longer in other species.  (See past reports of the work by
Judith Bell, DVM and others.)
 
At least one of the commonly used CDV vax does not provide enough
protection after a space of 2 to 3 years.  Years ago one of our vets
was asked to take over a family case which the previous vet didn't feel
up to.  The owners had not vaccinated for a space or either 2 or 3 years
because someone had convinced them that vax are dangerous and that there
was a holistic alternative.  Their household came down with Canine
Distemper Virus.  The ones who were never vaccinated all died, while
the ones who had been vaccinated but with that long hiatus got milder
infections which left them with permanent neurological damage and a
failure to thrive.
 
I agree that there are vax which are given too often to many animals and
I would like to be able to vaccinate less, but how long the vax last
varies in so many ways that until we have actual data which will let us
know how to best extend the time between injections *without endangering
our four footed family members* we are better off taking precautions that
will keep the little ones safest.  I'd like to see such research.  Right
now we don't have the where-with-all ourselves to donate large sums to
such research, though we certainly did in the past.  Hopefully, others
will do now so that they actually will in the future have the
ferret-specific and vaccine-specific data needed to make such choices
wisely.
 
I think I'd rather have vets and physicians writing laws and briefs than
lawyers attempting to legislate medicine.  Either approach is asking for
trouble, though.
 
What is it with the hubris of this age that so many people figure that
they know more about a topic than the people who actually studied it,
actually earned their advanced degrees, and who have actually spent
their lives researching the field?
 
Instant experts aren't.
[Posted in FML issue 4754]