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  Discussion on EPM Vaccine Experiences?
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Posted on Tuesday, Jun 5, 2001 - 10:00 pm:

Has anyone had any first-hand experience with the new EPM vaccine yet?

I know that it is still being tested for its ultimate protection qualities, etc. (and will be for awhile), but my vet has it available, and as he's had to treat approximately 8-10 horses per year for EPM in our area, was wondering if it would be worth a try - for a little peace of mind, if nothing else. My vet says that he has yet to have any horses exhibit any adverse reactions to the vaccine - but I was wondering if anyone else may have used it and seen a problem.

Thanks!

Bonnie

Posted on Wednesday, Jun 6, 2001 - 8:24 am:

Well no I have not given the vaccine. Frankly I only diagose this problem about once every 2 years and am waiting for more safety and efficacy studies.

When I hear of a unusually high number of EPM diagnosis I always wonder how accurate the diagnosis is, considering the difficulty of making an accurate diagnosis. The incidence of this disease overall in areas where it is endemic is thought to be well under 1% of the population and may be less than 1 in a thousand.
DrO

Posted on Thursday, Jun 7, 2001 - 8:48 am:

We may have more confirmed cases in my area because I believe most of them end up over at Marion duPont Scott (which is only an hour away), and they're pretty reliable as far as coming up with solid diagnoses. My vet also may have meant those 8-10 cases were over a longer period of time than exactly a year, even though that's what he said.

I still haven't made up my mind whether or not to try the vaccine this year. Skunk & fox we see a lot of; opossums - never. While I know they exist, I can't say that I feel my guys are at a higher risk than anyone else, and I too am wary of using something that hasn't been tested 100% over a long period of time.

Thank you very much for your opinion, Dr. O. I'm leaning towards "wait & see" I think, at this point.

Bonnie

Posted on Thursday, Jun 7, 2001 - 11:11 am:

Personally I have great reservation about the vaccine. First, because we still don't even know for sure how horses contract the disease and what the life cycle is so where is our disease model to test this like other vaccines? Second, we don't even know how effective the horses antibodies are against the protozoa so are we realy doing any good pumping them up? Third, historically vaccines against protozoa have not been highly effective so I wonder if this is more for the owners peace of mind. I truely wish the funds were being put into building a sturdy ladder of knowledge insted of trying to jump to the top and treat from there down. Just my 2 cents....
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