UNDATED (WSAU) — The debate about vaccinations has gone beyond giving shots to people. Some people don’t want to vaccinate their pets, either.
Veterinarian Doctor Douglas Aspros from the American Veterinary Medical Association says they have also seen cases where people don’t want to vaccinate their animals. “They have questions vaccinating their pets as well, and I’m here to tell them that’s not a good idea. Certainly, the science behind it and the medicine behind it tells us if you want to take really good care of your pets, the best care, then vaccines are part of the complete package.”
For people, the common diseases with effective vaccinations are measles, mumps, and rubella. Aspros says there are similar viruses that are dangerous and even fatal for your pets. “You mentioned measles, which is a virus that is very, very closely connected to a disease called canine distemper virus. (It’s) a common disease. Probably, the two viruses way in the past were the same virus that just morphed and evolved to choose their species, but canine distemper virus is a very common virus. It’s a risk for dogs because there are other animals other than dogs in our environment, like racoons, that carry it.”
One of the most serious diseases is one that can kill people and pets. “Rabies is certainly the poster child for a disease that we have good vaccines for, that’s deadly for dogs, deadly for cats, deadly for people, and vaccinating our pets is really the first line of defense to keep you and your family safe.”
Rabies also affects several wild animals.
Aspros says there are some diseases that are not viral, and there is no effective vaccine to prevent them. “Blasto (Blastomycosis) and some of the other diseases like that, fungal diseases, we don’t have good vaccines for. They’re not amenable to vaccines that are effective.”
Blastomycosis is common in certain parts of central Wisconsin, since the fungus is common in some river valleys.
Aspros says vaccinations are important to other animals, not just dogs and cats. “There are a number of diseases for which horses are a risk, and we have good vaccines to prevent. Ferrets now have good and effective vaccines for canine distemper, another disease that ferrets are prone to, as well as rabies.”
Many of the people opposed to vaccinations believe some, like the MMR (measles, mumps, rubella) vaccine for humans can cause autism. Medical doctors and veterinarians alike say that theory has been proven false, and the best way to prevent illnesses is to get people and pets immunized.
(Listen to our interview with Dr. Douglas Aspros on our website, here.)
