Putting a halt to annual vaccinations

With change, canines and cats must get shots every 3 years, but annual exams are still recommended

By Gary Susswein

AMERICAN-STATESMAN STAFF

Friday, February 28, 2003

Terriers and tabbies across Texas won't be tasting the terror of a rabies shot nearly as often from now on.

The state Board of Health decided Thursday that dogs and cats can wait three years between shots. The new rules replace a 2-decade-old requirement that pets be vaccinated every year.

In approving the change, the board acknowledged that vaccines are medically effective for at least three years and that states with the triennial requirement have never shown higher incidences of rabies than other states.

"Twenty-five years of in-field use show unequivocally that . . . such a change will have no detrimental effect on public health," said Jane Mahlow, director of the Health Department's Zoonosis Control Division.

In Texas, about 500 cases of rabies are reported in dogs or cats in a typical year, and one person contracts the disease about every five years.

The rules change delighted pet owners such as Joyce Sirota of Austin, who said she's watched two of her cats — Walker and Sebastian — become ill after receiving vaccinations.

"The expense and emotional torture of waiting to find out if your cat has cancer from a vaccination is unconscionable," Sirota told the board.

Several veterinarians who testified Thursday said they've seen similar episodes. One cited a study that found that 22,000 cats die across the country each year from vaccination-associated sarcoma, a type of cancer.

"There is no scientific data to support one-year vaccination frequency, said Bob Rogers, a Spring veterinarian who charges about $10 per vaccination.

But other veterinarians, including members of the 3,500-strong Texas Veterinary Medical Association, and animal control officers from around the state fought to maintain yearly vaccinations. They acknowledged their argument rests more on practical concerns than science.

Because about half of the state's estimated 13 million dogs and cats are never vaccinated and another 20 percent are vaccinated infrequently, advocates of the one-year rule worry that loosening the requirements would result in more pets missing their vaccines, thus increasing the public heath risk.

"Our grasp must be bigger than the individual animal. We've got to be thinking about the entire population," said Mark Scott of El Paso, chairman of the Texas Veterinary Medical Association.

He said he and his colleagues are not driven by the money they receive through annual shots, though veterinarians on the other side of the issue weren't convinced.

"The people of Texas are giving $60 million a year in unnecessary vaccinations," Rogers said.

Failure to vaccinate a pet is considered a Class C misdemeanor and often results in a fine of about $100, said Roy Resell, president of the Texas Animal Control Officers Association.

With Thursday's decision, Texas joins 45 other states that require dogs and cats to be vaccinated every three years.

The state does not require any other pet vaccinations. But state officials said some vaccinations are recommended annually and that pet owners should continue to get their pets checked at least yearly for other problems, such as worms.

gsusswein@statesman.com; 445-3654