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  Discussion on Updated Vaccine Schedule
Author Message
Moderator:
DrO

Posted on Friday, Jan 27, 2006 - 11:40 am:

To go along with our updated Vaccine Overview article we have updated the Vaccine Schedules extensively. We have included a lot of the new information on vaccines with some specific recommendations on products. You know where to come if you have any questions.
DrO
Member:
Beckettj

Posted on Thursday, Aug 31, 2006 - 10:37 am:

Dr. O:

I have two different questions with regard to periodic vaccinations.

First, I live in Ohio, where winter temperatures frequently go below 32 degrees F, and we do not see mosquitoes during those months. However, my vet offers a West Nile vaccination in the fall to cover for winter. My gut feeling is that a fall West Nile vaccine is not necessary. Do you agree?

Second, I have an older horse who, last year, had a serious allergic reaction to the intranasal flu/rhino vaccine - he went into anaphylactic shock, showed signs of colic, etc. and had to be treated immediately by my vet. Am I right to avoid future flu/rhino vaccines - even intramuscular vaccination - because of this reaction? He is being boarded in a facility that has some turnover, but not a great deal.

Thanks!

Janice
Moderator:
DrO

Posted on Thursday, Aug 31, 2006 - 11:15 pm:

Hello Janice,
We discuss the efficacy and frequency of WNV vaccination at Diseases of Horses » Nervous System » Incoordination, Weakness, Spasticity, Tremors » West Nile Virus.

Anaphylaxis from a intranasal product should be considered quite unlikely though I cannot say impossible. Can you give me the particulars of the timing and symptoms following administration?
DrO
Member:
Beckettj

Posted on Saturday, Sep 2, 2006 - 6:28 pm:

This was a year ago, but I remember that at about 3:00 in the afternoon, he received the intranasal vaccine for flu/rhino. That was the only fall vaccination he gets. The people working at the stable noticed he was in some distress within about an hour after the shot. He started pawing the ground in his stall, and looking at his flanks. They called me when symptoms got a bit worse at 5:00. I told them to immediately call my vet.

When I got the barn at 5:30, they had started walking him, because he appeared to be experiencing colic. I've owned him for 10 years, and he has never coliced before. Something was definitely wrong. When we walked him around our indoor arena, he passed manure a couple of times, and he was having gut sounds, so I questioned whether this was a true colic.

When my vet arrived, she listened to his heart, which had slowed to about 62 beats a minute. She diagnosed anaphylaxis, and gave him an injection of epinephrine and an injection of banamine. Within minutes, he was much better, and was back to normal within an hour.

Does that help?

Janice
Moderator:
DrO

Posted on Sunday, Sep 3, 2006 - 9:18 am:

The presence of gut sounds and passing manure are common findings in colics Janice, it depends on the type and stage of colic. Also the Banamine alone often has these results.

I have two horses in our practice that repeatedly colic with injectables, we just treat with Banamine with good results. Because the intranasal vaccine does not enter the blood stream it seems unlikely to cause a systemic reaction that occurs do to over stimulation of the distal portions of the immune system. Also this is not classical anaphylaxis which usually has the largest effect of the respiratory system, though colic can accompany these reactions. I don't know, I always remember the barn where I vaccinated a dozen horses but we skipped one because it was going showing the next day. I was out at midnight that night treating it for colic. We commented at the time we would have been blaming the vaccine IF this horse had got its injections.

I have had many such experiences where circumstances showed that easily made temporal correlations turned out to be nothing more than coincidence. Although it is possible this is a very unusual reaction it also could have been coincidence.
DrO
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