Submitted by News_of_Entwives t3_zg7zyj in askscience
Typically people vaccines last like 10+ years, sometimes even for life. Why do my animals need to be vaccinated yearly for rabies?
I know the practical answer is that the law was written that way to be absolutely sure our pets don't get infected, but what about the scientific studies of immunity? How long does a rabies vaccine provide immunity? And if it's only 1-3 years, why does it wear off so fast?
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There is a one year rabies vaccine for cats that doesn’t have adjuvant in it to stop them getting injection site sarcomas.
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Partially to ensure consistent protection (Ab levels fall off before they go away), partially because we don't check our pets for seroconversion, and partially because they (hopefully) aren't constantly exposed to it. Plus, reliably effective post-symptomatic therapies still aren't really a thing.
When I worked in Rabies testing we had to have periodic bloodwork to ensure we were still immune. Of course, we had so many positive specimens each week that we never had to worry about it...
People and animals have different immune systems and metabolisms. Many functions are exactly the same, many are similar and some are completely different. The immunity elicited by the rabies vaccine lasts a shorter period of time in dogs and cats than it does in humans.
There have been studies done to try to extend the period between boosters, but length of protective immunity is variable and some animals may not be covered for rabies if the interval is extended, so they have not yet changed it
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7088826/
Also, some vaccines require yearly boosters (inactivated/killed) because they don't generate as strong or as lasting of an immune response. The active or live vaccines produce longer-lasting immunity and are usually given every three years as per the current vaccination guidelines.
That's the kind of source I was looking for. Thank you!
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Some diseases/vaccines are that way. When I was a kid, we had to get cholera vaccines every six months; typhus, typhoid, & yellow fever (iirc) were annual.
I think DTaP, or whatever the correct name is, has a 10-year limit, at least the tetanus part. It also appears that you can’t get the standalone tetanus vax any more. I buried a fish hook in my finger (2/0 past the barb; it hurt) and the dr said I should get a tetanus shot; they only had DTaP.
I get the tetanus shot as part of my routine office visit every 5 years, saves me an extra trip to the Dr. at some point during the year. (Wound management schedule timing) Tool Time Taylor has nothing on me! lol
The tetanus part probably lasts for much longer than 10 years in most people (cases of tetanus in people who received their primary series are vanishingly rare, and some countries don't even give boosters) [1]. But tetanus is kind of like rabies... you'd be crazy to mess around. Even a nonlethal case of tetanus is devastating. Thus, the recommendations tend to be quite conservative, and you should be too.
The aP part (acellular pertussis), on the other hand, actually doesn't last very long. The acellular vaccine unfortunately is just not as effective as the now-discontinued whole-cell vaccine. So even if you think the tetanus version isn't strictly necessary, get your booster for the pertussis portion....
[1] Hammarlund et al, "Durability of Vaccine-Induced Immunity Against Tetanus and Diphtheria Toxins: A Cross-sectional Analysis," Clinical Infectious Diseases 2016.
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The antibodies wear off at different rates, so ensuring there is constant coverage is key. Also, the risk for pets are higher because they don't know what rabies are so they aren't going to avoid rabid animals. Another factor is the cost to test for those antibodies. I have received a bunch of polio shots because the same reason, and cost of the shot is a fraction of the cost for the test to see if I still have the antibodies, so my work mandates I get the shot just in case.
Also, rabies is an incredibly deadly disease. There has been only ONE documented survivor of rabies in all of human history and they put the victim into a coma for a month as a last ditch effort and it worked, although I think they still have serious brain damage. Rabies is NOT something to trifle with.
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Yeah, it's super expensive to test for antibodies. You need to if you're traveling to Hawaii with your pet. They don't have rabies and don't want it. My understanding is that your pet just needs the antibodies in their system, and a vaccine every 3 years is cheaper than the blood test to check.
From: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rabies
As of 2016, only fourteen people were documented to have survived a rabies infection after showing symptoms. However, research conducted in 2010 among a population of people in Perú with a self-reported history of one or more bites from vampire bats (commonly infected with rabies), found that out of 73 individuals reporting previous bat bites, 7 people had rabies virus-neutralizing antibodies (rVNA). Since only one member of this group reported prior vaccination for rabies, the findings of the research suggest previously undocumented cases of infection and viral replication followed by an abortive infection. This could indicate that in rare cases people may have an exposure to the virus without treatment and develop natural antibodies as a result.
At least two treatment schemes have been proposed for treating rabies after the onset of symptoms, the Milwaukee Protocol and the Recife Protocol. The Milwaukee Protocol was first used in 2004 on Jeanna Giese, who became the first person known to have survived rabies without preventive treatments before symptom onset. The protocol puts a person into a chemically induced coma and uses antiviral medications to prevent fatal dysautonomia. The overall protocol is complex; the sixth version of the protocol last updated in 2018 consists of 17 pages with 22 steps of treatment, detailed monitoring, and a timeline of expected complications. The Recife Protocol follows the same principle but differs in details like termination of sedation and supplementary medication.
That Peru study is interesting, thanks for sharing that!
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Faelwolf t1_izfvcaz wrote
Every year is overkill for rabies vaccine for pets. It lasts 3+ years unless there is a weaker version I don't know about. Are you sure the law requires the vaccine, or just that the rabies vacc be verified and a new tag issued each year?
My vet wouldn't even give a rabies vacc under 2.5 years from the previous one unless the circumstances required it. The exception is for puppies, they get it at 4-6 months, with a booster after 1 year, but it's 3 years from then on. The vaccine actually lasts a little longer than that, but the expiration has so many variables that they revaccinate every 3 years. Much better safe than sorry in this case. This is one vaccine you don't want to take chances with.
I acknowledge that some state/local laws aren't based on reality or common sense though......