Yesterday, this was posted.

>it is unnecessary, useless, and harmful to do a 'series' of
>vaccinations. The series of vaccinations is only given to young
>animals that may still have maternal antibodies that interfere with
>a vaccination 'taking'. If the animal is past the age where maternal
>antibodies would still be present, there is no need for a series, and
>subsequent vaccinations can actually lessen the immunity and you could
>make the animal more susceptible to the disease you are trying to
>protect it from.

Just for the sake of clarity, folks, no mammal is born with the least
resistance to *rabies.* None. (Anyone remember Sabrina the Bat Biter?)
None. There are no maternal antibodies to rabies that mammals recieve
from their mothers UNLESS THE MOTHER WAS HERSELF VACCINATED AGAINST
RABIES. And the protection that the offspring recieves from the mother
against rabies fades very quickly, it does not last for life. This is
true for a number of illnesses that companion animals are commonly
vaccinated against. When you recieve a young animal with no history,
you really need to sit down with your vet and discuss the matter.

This site has a very nice, clearly written explanation of vaccination
failures in general, as well as vaccination failure due to the
lingering presence of maternal antibodies in the young offspring of
vaccinated mothers. For that section in particular, please scroll
down the page to reason number five, "Interference due to Maternal
Antibodies." It explains why a vaccination series, rather than a
single vaccination is often recommended for the young offspring of
a vaccinated mother.

http://www.sniksnak.com/doghealth/vac-failures.html

Alexandra in MA

[Posted in FML 5703]