Richard B. Ford

2013 AAFP Feline Vaccination Advisory Panel Report

Rationale: This Report was developed by the Feline Vaccination Advisory Panel of the American Association of Feline Practitioners (AAFP) to provide practical recommendations to help clinicians select appropriate vaccination schedules for their feline patients based on risk assessment. The recommendations rely on published data as much as possible, as well as consensus of a multidisciplinary panel of experts in immunology, infectious disease, internal medicine and clinical practice.

2006 AAHA Canine Vaccine Guidelines

In 2005, AAHAs Canine Vaccine Task Force met to reexamine and revise guidelines on the use of vaccines in dogs. The results of the Task Forces work are summarized and tabulated in this article and are published in their entirety on the AAHA website (www.aahanet.org). The 2006 AAHA Canine Vaccine Guidelines contain information on new technological developments in vaccines, an introduction to conditionally licensed vaccines, and detailed recommendations on the use of available vaccines. Perhaps the most noteworthy addition to the guidelines is a separate set of recommendations created for shelter facilities. Vaccines are classified as core (universally recommended), noncore (optional), or not recommended. The Task Force recognizes that vaccination decisions must always be made on an individual basis, based on risk and lifestyle factors.

Vaccines and Vaccinations: The Strategic Issues

The rapid proliferation of companion animal vaccines, advances in diagnostic and vaccine technology, and concerns over vaccine safety are clearly among the most important issues practicing veterinarians face as we enter the 21st century. Although many would argue that these are already issues, the future promises to be especially challenging as the vaccines we currently use and the protocols we recommend undergo unprecedented review.

The influence of host factors on the outcome of a viral infection.

The clinician confronted with a patient that has an infectious disease, particularly one caused by a virus, faces a series of difficult problems: diagnostic confirmation of the infection, instituting appropriate therapy, duration of treatment, preventing secondary complications, and preventing transmission of the virus to susceptible animals. Yet, it is the complex relationship between the patient, as host to a pathogenic virus, the virus, and the environment that ultimately influences the clinical course of an infection. The ability to accurately prognose the outcome of any infection is, therefore, predicated on the clinicians awareness of biological and environmental variables that apply to the individual patient.

WSAVA vaccination guidelines for the dog and the cat.

In 1996, a group of academicians and feline practitioners met in an effort to develop vaccination recommendations for cats. At the time, we were concerned with a series of publications highlighting that, at least in some cats, feline leukaemia and rabies vaccines were causally associated with a particularly aggressive form of fibrosarcoma. If recommendations could be written that were consistent with good immunisation practices, yet requiring fewer vaccine doses over the lifetime of the cat, perhaps it would be possible to reduce the risk of what was being called at the time: “vaccine associated sarcoma” (today known as feline injection-site sarcoma or FISS). This work culminated in the first set of Feline Vaccination Guidelines, published in 1998, which included recommendations for administration of fewer doses of vaccine over the lifetime of the cat while introducing terms such as “core” versus “non-core” vaccines. Since then, vaccination guidelines for both dogs and cats have been published for the United Kingdom, Europe, the United States, Canada and, most recently, Asia. Guidelines for Latin America are under consideration at this time. Clearly, vaccination guidelines have gone global. Also, as this iteration of the WSAVA Vaccination Guidelines highlights, the business of vaccines and vaccination is dynamic and very much subject to change. Scientific updates, regional variations in infectious disease risk, emerging pathogens and new vaccines represent just a few of the variables involved with keeping vaccination guidelines current and relevant. 1

Erratum: 2013 AAFP Feline Vaccination Advisory Panel Report

Regrettably, an error appeared in the ‘Injectable vaccine administration’ box on page 798: the pictures in Figures 8 and 9 were swapped with each other. (The error appears in the printed copies of the journal, and in online versions downloaded before mid-October 2013.) The amended box is reproduced here in full. DOI of original article: 10.1177/1098612X13500429