Lepto vaccine?

[Kfamr]

http://www.canismajor.com/dog/lepto.html


Call me paranoid, but since Kiara goes to many different parks/areas she just got her second vaccine today.

Mufasa may get one too - but Kiara goes to parks and stuff more than the other three. Simba and Nala rarely go anywhere other than around the neighborhood and the yard.

[CathyBogart]

If you're in a high-risk area it might be worth doing...however, the lepto vaccine is not always effective because there are many strains of leptospira bacteria that can cause disease and the various lepto vaccines protect against between one and four strains. It does prevent those strains from affecting the vaccinated dog very effectively, if those are the strains the dog comes in contact with.

The lepto vaccine has a reputation for causing a lot of adverse reactions, but newer versions of the vaccine don't show a high incidence of reaction. I believe it was the way the earlier vaccines were made which caused the problems, and the newer versions are more refined. Here's an article with more info:

http://www.cpvh.com/Articles/88.html

[k9krazee]

My 5 just got it last summer when Micki almost died after contracting Leptosporosis.

It's just a vaccine against Lepto included in the distemper booster. We found out that our vet usually doesn't give the booster with Lepto included unless you ask for it.

[Giselle]

In our area, Leptospirosis is rather rare and all of the vets I've talked to are absolutely fine with my decision not to vaccinate for it. Like Cathy mentioned, the vaccine only targets a few strains so the vaccine is essentially a shot in the dark, IMO.

Most vets give the DA2PP (distemper, adenovirus-2, parvo, parainfluenza). Corona and Lepto are optional. I skipped both after consulting with my vets and knowing the risk in my area. I also skipped Bordetella, but, again, that's after consulting with my vets and knowing my area's risk level and my dogs' susceptibilities.

[dragondawg]

If your dog engages in unsafe practices such as eating feces, or as my one dog does - rolling in mud holes where a raccoon may have made a boo-boo in the middle of the night, then one should vaccinate. If your dog is not in a position to come into contact with contaminated water or feces, then it's a non-issue. When in doubt vaccinate.

Lepto is a very nasty disease for a dog to get, and as one poster has stated can kill. There are no studies out that links lepto vaccinations to a vaccine side effect. Most likely because they are usually given at the same time as other vaccines, and the Lepto vaccine can not be parsed out as the cause.

Puppies are usually given a 3 week booster, whereas adult dogs are not. The efficacy of the Lepto vaccine is not a shot in the dark per the US. The two most common strains in the US pomona and grippotyphosa are covered in the vaccine, and provide some protection against other common US serotypes. On the other hand France and especially Germany seem to have serotypes not covered by the vaccine. Surprise - where did the vaccines most likely originated from (per original regulatory applications) ... the US.

[Catlady711]

There are no studies out that links lepto vaccinations to a vaccine side effect. Most likely because they are usually given at the same time as other vaccines, and the Lepto vaccine can not be parsed out as the cause.

We use the 4 way lepto (Fort Dodge I think) In our area Lepto is still around and last year we lost several puppies to lepto and had several others that got very sick but did recover. We have not had much for reactions with lepto. Most of the vaccine reactions we get have been from the Corona vaccine and we have started slowly decreasing how often we use that one.