HealthforAnimals report warns on global vaccination uptake

A new international report, How to increase animal vaccination, has concluded that poor vaccination levels in pets and livestock are putting animals in danger of preventable diseases, risking a rise in superbugs, the return of previously controlled diseases and increased risk of antibiotic resistance. It also warns that diseases that can jump from animals to humans, including rabies, leptospirosis and Weil’s disease.
The report suggests there are several barriers to vaccination, including anti-vaccination attitudes among pet owners, high prices and lack of access, with one in five UK pet owners saying to cost is prohibitive. A recent study in the UK found that vaccination levels have fallen by 7% since 2011. Whilst vaccination rates among large livestock producers on richer continents like Australasia, Europe, South Africa and the US is at around 80%, in smallholder farms in sub-Saharan Africa, Asia and South America, it is quite a different story, and in China and Brazil, pet vaccination is incredibly low, despite an increase in pet ownership.
Executive director of HealthforAnimals, Carel du Marchie Sarvaas, said: “Vaccines are a cornerstone of health and a veterinarian’s most valuable tool for protecting animals from disease, but numerous barriers often stand in the way of adoption, such as protectionist tactics and trade barriers that ultimately limit the availability of vaccines. We have seen a real explosion in the pet population around the world. It’s a status symbol in many places. In Beijing, there are a lot of dogs compared to a few years ago. It’s not a question of money, if you can afford a dog or cat you can afford the shot. It’s a question of awareness. In Malawi there are just two vets and in some of the poorest countries there are no vets at all. Sixty thousand people die from rabies every year. Vaccination is important.”