Another day at the NAVC. Can’t believe it has been already three days, time really flies by here ! Here are my 10 key take-aways from today !
Updates on vaccines
#1 Prevention of infectious diseases in animal populations : the more animals are vaccinated, the more all of them are protected.
#2 On leptospirosis vaccination : side effects to this vaccination represents less than 0.1% of the cases ;
#3 There are now oral vaccines for Bordetella (a bacteria that can cause kennel cough). And they provide good immune stimulation !
#4 A paper described a genetic predisposition in cats to develop vaccine-induced fibrosarcoma. : any inflammation in the wrong cat could therefore lead to the development of this problem. It seems that it is not only related to vaccination…
On parvo infection in puppies
#5 80-90% puppies survive parvo with appropriate medical treatment. Definitely an improvement ! When I was a student, I was taught that we could only save approximately 50% of those cases.
#6 When an animal is sick with parvo, it will shed extensively the virus for at least 7-10 days. However sometimes, the shedding can last for months : therefore post medical recovery, no dog parks for at least 2 months !
#7 Great quote from the speaker : “ How do you diagnose parvo ? Based on smell… No just kidding !” True, in 2016, we cannot do this and must rely on an accurate diagnostic procedure !
