PDSA and NOAH highlight vaccination issues.

The PDSA’s annual Animal Wellbeing report (PAW) has highlighted that in the period from 2011 to 2017 there was a 7% drop in vaccination uptake for dogs and cats. We also know that in 2017, just 50% of rabbits were given a primary vaccination when young, and 55% were not given their annual booster vaccinations at all. This has prompted the National Office of Animal Health to warn that this level of reluctance to vaccinate our pets could lead to fatal illnesses that will affect both pets and people. Reasons for the drop in numbers seem to lie with pet owners looking for information about vaccinations on unqualified websites and basing their decisions on that data.
NOAH says pet owners and farmers need to be educated on the benefits, safety and efficacy of vaccination as 70% coverage is the recommendation to ensure pets are not at risk of being exposed to avoidable diseases. Dawn Howard, CEO of NOAH, said: “Vaccination has, to some extent, been a victim of its own success, as many pet owners no longer see preventable diseases, such as parvovirus or distemper in dogs, first hand. Therefore, they may not feel it is necessary to keep their animal protected. Vaccination by responsible owners has kept many diseases in check, but control is not the same as eradication. The consequences of the ‘anti-vaxx movement’ in human medicine in the US has led to an emergency outbreak of measles being declared in New York state. Measles cases in the UK increased sharply in 2018: disease came mainly from Europe, but spread particularly in teenagers who had missed out on vaccinations when they were young. Vaccine hesitancy has been named by the World Health Organization as one of the top 10 health threats of the year. It has been suggested by a leading vet that lack of uptake in the veterinary medicine sector could similarly increase the risk of previously eradicated or seldom seen diseases in our pets. To help do this, NOAH supports World Animal Vaccination Day, an initiative of global animal health association HealthforAnimals and the World Veterinary Association.”