The 2006 American Association of Feline Practitioners Feline Vaccine Advisory Panel Report
The report provided here was developed by the AAFP Feline Vaccine Advisory Panel to aid practitioners in making decisions about appropriate care of patients with respect to currently available vaccines. The Advisory Panel included experts in immunology, infectious disease, internal medicine, and clinical practice. As much as possible, the information reported here was based on information from studies in peer-reviewed publications. When such information was not available, the Advisory Panel depended on clinical experience, technical judgments, and results of unpublished studies. Although the information contained herein is intended to be accurate, thorough, and comprehensive, it is subject to change in light of developments in research, technology, and experience. As such, this document should not be construed as dictating exclusive protocols, courses of treatment, or procedures. Other techniques and procedures may be warranted on the basis of the needs of the patient, available resources, and limitations unique to the setting.
The AAFP thanks the members of the Feline Vaccine Advisory Panel for their devotion to this project. The AAFP also appreciates the openness and assistance provided by manufacturers of feline vaccines.
Introduction
Vaccination programs for cats have been major topics of discussion among veterinarians in recent years, primarily because of concerns about vaccine safety, the number of commercially available vaccines, and an incomplete knowledge of the duration and extent of protection provided by certain vaccines.
Vaccines play an important role in the control of infectious diseases. However, some vaccines do not induce complete protection from infection or disease, and they do not induce the same degree of protection in all cats. Exposure to infected animals and infectious agents should be minimized, even in vaccinated cats. The risk of infection and subsequent disease varies with the age and health of the cat, extent of its exposure to the infectious agent and to other cats, and the geographic prevalence of infection. Factors that negatively affect an individual cat's ability to respond to vaccination include interference from MDA, congenital or acquired immunodeficiency, concurrent disease or infection, inadequate nutrition, and immunosuppressive medications. When practical, every effort should be made to ensure that cats are healthy prior to vaccination.
Kittens are generally more susceptible to infection and typically develop more severe diseases than adult cats. Thus, kittens represent the principal target population for vaccination. As part of a routine health care program, the vaccination needs of all cats, including adults, should be assessed at least yearly and, if necessary, modified on the basis of an assessment of a cat's risk.
Vaccination is a medical procedure, and the decision to vaccinate, even with vaccines considered as core vaccines, should be based on a risk-benefit assessment for each cat and each vaccine. Vaccination may indeed be beneficial, but it is not innocuous, and the benefit of vaccinating a cat (ie, the induction of clinically meaningful immunity) must be balanced against the risk of adverse events associated with vaccination. The overall objectives of vaccination, then, are to vaccinate the greatest number of cats in the population at risk; vaccinate each cat no more frequently than necessary; vaccinate each cat only against infectious agents to which it has a realistic risk of exposure, infection, and subsequent development of disease; vaccinate a cat only when the potential benefits of the procedure outweigh the potential risks; and vaccinate appropriately to protect public health.
Core, noncore, and not generally recommended vaccines–Core vaccines are recommended for all cats. The Advisory Panel believes vaccines against FPV, FHV-1, FCV, and rabies virus fall into this category. Noncore vaccines should be administered to cats in specific risk categories as outlined in the section on vaccine antigens. The Advisory Panel believes vaccines against FeLV, FIV, Chlamydophila felis, and Bordetella bronchiseptica fall into this category. Not generally recommended vaccines are those that the Advisory Panel believes have little or no indication; these vaccines have not been found to induce a clinically meaningful immune response in most cats and circumstances, or they may be associated with adverse events out of proportion to their usefulness. The Advisory Panel believes vaccines against FIP and Giardia spp fall into this category.
The Advisory Panel commends veterinary biologics manufacturers for responding to many of the concerns and recommendations in the 2000 report, such as inclusion of vaccine antigens in multivalent products on the basis of similar vaccine target populations (ie, similar exposure and infection risks) and similar DOI induced by vaccination (eg, FHV-1/FCV combinations); creation of appropriate monovalent products (eg, FPV vaccines); attempts to develop vaccines that create less inflammation at injectable vaccination sites (eg, nonadjuvanted FeLV and rabies virus vaccines and nonadjuvanted inactivated FPV vaccines); development of novel methods of vaccine administration (eg, transdermal application); development of products with a lower required dosage (eg, IN administered FHV-1/FCV vaccines and recombinant FeLV vaccines); funding of studies to investigate the DOI; licensing of vaccines with DOI > 1 year; exploration of novel vaccine technologies (eg, recombinant vaccines); and desire to work with regulatory agencies to improve vaccine labels and the manner by which adverse events are reported.
Authors: James R. Richards, Thomas H. Elston, Richard B. Ford, Rosalind M. Gaskell, Katrin Hartmann, Kate F. Hurley, Michael R. Lappin, Julie K. Levy, Ilona Rodan, Margie Scherk, Ronald D. Schultz, Andrew H. Sparkes
Source: https://avmajournals.avma.org/
Comments
Related Articles
More news
Copyright © 2026 - All Rights Reserved
ISSN 2768-198X
List
Add
Please enter a comment