Vanguard®plus

. In companion animals, immunological response to infection or vaccination has generally been evaluated by measuring the level of antibodies in serum and correlating these with protection or susceptibility. For the diseases caused by canine distemper virus, canine parvovirus, 4,5 canine adenovirus and leptospirosis, 4 evaluation of antibody titers may be a valuable diagnostic indicator to determine when revaccination may be needed. For other diseases, a serological response has not been identified that correlates with protection. Practical knowledge of the disease, the vaccine and the patient, along with serologic test results when appropriate, is paramount in making the best recommendation for a vaccination protocol for a specific animal. The duration and character of the immune response to the viral antigens of Vanguard and/or Vanguard Plus were determined in a multi-center serology study involving 47 small animal veterinary clinics located in the United States (44) and Canada (3). Three hundred twenty-two male and female (intact and neutered) dogs of various ages, breeds, weights, lifestyles and time since last vaccination were enrolled in the study. Dogs were required to be healthy, greater than 2 years old with no history of disease due to CDV, CPV, CAV-1, CAV-2, or CPI and must not have been vaccinated for 12-48 months or longer. Additionally, dogs must have received at least a priming vaccination series approximately 2-7 weeks apart as a puppy and a booster vaccination approximately 8-16 months later. All previously administered vaccines were Vanguard products. A blood sample was collected from each dog and serum submitted to Cornell Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory for determination of CDV (SN), CPV (HAI) titers, CAV-1 (SN), CAV-2 (SN), and CPI (SN). The samples were sent to a single diagnostic laboratory, thus ensuring a standardized test and methodology. As shown in the table below, elevated geometric mean titers were sustained for 12 to ≥ 48 months after the last booster. Since the study was conducted under field conditions with client-owned animals, it is possible that natural exposure to infectious agents could have occurred without clinical signs of infection. In such cases, the titers measured in the study could be the result of exposure to the disease in addition to vaccinations during the course of the study. table 1. Geometric mean titer/number of dogs 6 Time Since Last Vaccination (Months) Antigen 12-18 19-24 25-30 31-36 37-42 43-48 >48 CDV 548/119 407/62 427/47 385/42 417/22 453/11 264/19 CPV 601/119 462/62 415/47 295/42 462/22 170/11 238/19 CAV-1 218/119 206/58 213/46 149/39 164/21 157/11 95/19 CAV-2 190/119 181/58 210/46 200/39 13