Some practitioners recommend monovalent vaccines to their clients because they feel that giving one agent at a time is optimal. Other practitioners recommend polyvalent vaccines in the hope of avoiding some vaccine reactions by giving one injection with multiple agents in it. Provide arguments for why some people prefer monovalent vaccines while others prefer polyvalent vaccines

Question

What will be an ideal response?

Answer 1

The main concern with the use of vaccines is the development of immune-mediated and other chronic disorders associated with vaccine use. Some problems occur because of contaminated or poorly attenuated vaccine batches, other problems result from an animal's adverse reaction to products

in the vaccine. Some breeds of animals are particularly susceptible to vaccine reactions.

There are two types of reactions of concern: immediate hypersensitivity or anaphylactic reaction (occurring 24–48 hours after inoculation) and delayed immune response (occurring 10–30 days after inoculation). Typical adverse reactions include fever, stiffness, neurologic disorders, hemorrhage, and susceptibility to infections.

Polyvalent vaccines contain many antigens, which may increase the risk of adverse conditions. Some infectious agents included in the vaccine are unnecessary. An example of an unnecessary infectious agent in older polyvalent vaccines is the

canine leptospirosis bacterin. The strains of leptospirosis covered in the older canine vaccine were not the clinically important

strains, and the antibodies produced last only a few months.

The best strategy would be to give vaccinations that a particular animal needs based on its geographic location, its risk of contracting disease, and any legal requirements. The rabies vaccine, which is regulated by legal requirements, may need to be given only every three years, but authorities may mandate that it be more

frequently. Lyme disease vaccination needs to be given only in certain geographic locations. The trend in veterinary medicine is that too many vaccines are administered and that decreasing the frequency of vaccination, after the initial juvenile vaccine series and one-year booster, would be beneficial for animals.