Titer Testing
See:
http://www.petwelfarealliance.org/vaccicheck.html
http://www.petwelfarealliance.org/vaccine-research.html
See:
http://www.petwelfarealliance.org/vaccicheck.html
http://www.petwelfarealliance.org/vaccine-research.html
| serology_testing_clinical_review_dr__dodds_march_2018.pdf |
Titer Testing and The Need to Revaccinate
extracts from a paper in Veterinary Microbiology, Volume 117, Issue 1,
5 October 2006.
By Ronald D Schultz
Pre-translation of this paper: it appears that if any antibody, at any level, is detected in your dog, then there is no need to revaccinate: he’s immune.
Work began in my laboratory in the mid-1970s to determine the duration of immunity for canine and feline vaccines. My interest in DOI was stimulated by several factors:
Therefore, I decided to perform a minimum DOI study with dogs that were being used for other long term studies. The results of this study showed that antibody titres were maintained for years without revaccination. It also showed that all challenged animals were protected from clinical disease. These observations came as no surprise to me or my colleagues studying the diseases prevented by the vaccines because we had observed long term immunity in the field (Carmichael, 1999, Schultz, 1980, and Schultz et al 1980).
The period of time from the last vaccination to challenge ranged from 1 year (because at that time few 1 year DOI studies had been reported) to as long as 11 years. None of the challenged dogs developed signs of disease irrespective of time since vaccination.
Duration of immunity following vaccination or natural infection is dependant on two major mechanisms:
Although it remains controversial, DOI studies in both the dog and the cat show memory effecter B cells continue to produce antibody to the core vaccines in the absence of overt antigenic stimulation for many years. Thus, revaccination does not appear necessary to maintain these cells. The continued presence of antibody in animals in the absence of any booster revaccination is a direct consequence of continued antibody production by memory effecter B cells. In contrast memory B and T cells can only become reactivated (ie they become effecter cells) after reinfection or reimmunisation.
The ability to detect antibody, regardless of titer, in a previously vaccinated and actively immune animal demonstrates that memory effecter B cells are present and functional. The presence of antibody also suggests that memory B cells (not producing antibody) are very likely present.
extracts from a paper in Veterinary Microbiology, Volume 117, Issue 1,
5 October 2006.
By Ronald D Schultz
Pre-translation of this paper: it appears that if any antibody, at any level, is detected in your dog, then there is no need to revaccinate: he’s immune.
Work began in my laboratory in the mid-1970s to determine the duration of immunity for canine and feline vaccines. My interest in DOI was stimulated by several factors:
- the observation that dogs who had recovered from canine distemper and cats who had recovered from panleukopenia were completely resistant to experimental viral challenges many years later.
- My three children were receiving a series of vaccinations that would end about the time they entered school with most of the vaccines never being given again.
- a vet in the US Army asked me to design a vaccination program for dogs and cats that did not require yearly revaccinations.
- it was not known if yearly vaccinations were necessary for dogs and cats, but most experts I consulted believed they probably were not needed.
Therefore, I decided to perform a minimum DOI study with dogs that were being used for other long term studies. The results of this study showed that antibody titres were maintained for years without revaccination. It also showed that all challenged animals were protected from clinical disease. These observations came as no surprise to me or my colleagues studying the diseases prevented by the vaccines because we had observed long term immunity in the field (Carmichael, 1999, Schultz, 1980, and Schultz et al 1980).
The period of time from the last vaccination to challenge ranged from 1 year (because at that time few 1 year DOI studies had been reported) to as long as 11 years. None of the challenged dogs developed signs of disease irrespective of time since vaccination.
Duration of immunity following vaccination or natural infection is dependant on two major mechanisms:
- the persistence of memory B and T cells stimulated at time of vaccination/ infection, and
- the persistence of long lived plasma cells that I have termed ‘memory effecter B cells’ which continue to produce antibody for years after initial immune stimulation.
Although it remains controversial, DOI studies in both the dog and the cat show memory effecter B cells continue to produce antibody to the core vaccines in the absence of overt antigenic stimulation for many years. Thus, revaccination does not appear necessary to maintain these cells. The continued presence of antibody in animals in the absence of any booster revaccination is a direct consequence of continued antibody production by memory effecter B cells. In contrast memory B and T cells can only become reactivated (ie they become effecter cells) after reinfection or reimmunisation.
The ability to detect antibody, regardless of titer, in a previously vaccinated and actively immune animal demonstrates that memory effecter B cells are present and functional. The presence of antibody also suggests that memory B cells (not producing antibody) are very likely present.
I contacted Glasgow University’s Dr Hal Thomson, the UK’s top expert on canine viral disease and asked, “I was wondering if you have seen a recent paper by Dr Ron Schultz, where he suggests that any antibody at all (at whatever level) would indicate that immunity resides in memory and no further vaccination is required. He appreciates that this is a controversial view. Do you have any thoughts on this?”
Dr Thompson replied: “I would agree with Dr Schultz but there are two reservations. Firstly, with young dogs, the antibody levels will often change in the first year of life. For my sins, I have challenged puppies with canine parvovirus who had recorded moderate levels following vaccination but those levels then fell with time. The puppies developed disease. It is for that reason that I advocate a basic puppy vaccination and then a first booster at either 6 months or a year, after which the dog is immune.
“The second point is belt and braces and concerns the error of the test. You must have a margin of safety. For example, a low level of 8 could in fact be negative and the dog susceptible; but if you set the level at 64, then you will always be safe.”
This means that the world’s top experts, in both the UK and America, assert that puppy vaccines followed by one booster will cover dogs for life. Titer tests after the first booster will confirm immunity.
Another option is to not vaccinate at all, and have titres measured anyway.
For details on in-house, inexpensive, and quick (results in 20 minutes) titer testing, see:
http://www.petwelfarealliance.org/vaccicheck.html
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