What About Vaccines?
Vaccinosis
by Betty Lewis, RVT, Dr. A.N.
When I started to write this article, I decided to see if there
were any trends I could discover by looking back in my own history as
a Registered Veterinary Technician. I quickly found that I could characterize
the various veterinary hospitals where I worked by half decade, as well
as by the reasons that it seemed to me most people took their animals
to the veterinarian. These are my recollections: nothing “scientific”
or etched in stone, but I found the trends to be interesting.
I first started working in the veterinary profession in 1973.
The word “trauma” sums up my memory of those early years. Outside of
routine spays and neuters, the main reason that animals showed up at
this vet’s included what we called “HBCs” or “hit by cars”, also, cats
who got caught in car fan belts, dog fights, cuts and scratches and broken
limbs. In other words, there were a lot of otherwise healthy animals who
ended up needing veterinary attention because of accidents. We did not
see an overwhelming amount of chronically ill animals.
I left that practice in 1976, so my memory of the next veterinary
hospital pertains to the late 1970s. In that hospital, the character
had changed a little and now we saw more allergies, bloats and growth
issues, like panosteitis.
The next hospital was in the early 1980s and by that time we were
seeing parvovirus cases, and more metabolic diseases like diabetes in
dogs, cancer and heart failure.
By the late 1980s, animals were showing severe signs of illnesses.
Even more diseases began to be commonplace such as dental diseases, kidney
failure, hypothyroid (dogs), hyperthyroid (cats), diabetes continued
in dogs, but now emerged in cats as well, cardiomyopathy, cancers, and
serious autoimmunities such as lupus, myasthenia gravis and others.
From the late 1990s to the present, all of the above diseases
continue across breed lines, sometimes across species lines and there
are new problems being added all the time. IBD/IBS (inflammatory bowel
disease/syndrome) was unheard of when I left veterinary practice in 1987
to open my holistic consulting business, but is now nearly at epidemic
proportions. Seizures and temperament problems are common now and there
are more cancers and autoimmune diseases.
I find this trend to be incredibly alarming. When charted in this
cut and dried fashion, it is obvious to me that animals are *much* sicker
now than they were a mere 30 years ago and the diseases are very serious.
I have mulled this situation over, trying to decide why animals
(and probably humans) appear to be sicker than they used to be, and
have come to the conclusion that I can sum up the fundamental reason
for this trend in two words: “toxic exposure”. Our focus has changed
from acute disease, leading to quick death, to chronic disease and long,
drawn-out, painful death. We really have gone from having animals who
weren’t really sick much at all to animals who are always sick.
Toxic exposure takes many forms, from industrial waste in our
water, such as chlorine and fluoride, to toxic cleaning supplies, to
so-called preventive products for parasites such as the topical “spot-on”
products or heartworm “prevention” products. There are many other environmental
toxins that our animals are exposed to, but, in my opinion, the two biggest
husbandry or management mistakes that we make in caretaking our animals
represent two sides of the same coin. One is species inappropriate diet and
the other is the use of vaccines.
The diet issue is a huge one, but not the focus of this article.
For more information on this topic, please read my “Nutrition” article
at
http://home.earthlink.net/~pawsreflect/nutrition.html
The rest of this article will focus on vaccines and vaccinosis.
In the 1800’s, a homeopathic physician named F. Compton Burnett,
coined the word to mean chronic disease induced by vaccination.
In 1993, a well-known American homeopathic veterinarian and immunologist,
Richard Pitcairn, DVM, PhD, presented a paper to a veterinary conference.
The paper can be found by going to the link below.
http://www.drpitcairn.com/talks/looking_at_vaccines.html
In the paper, he showed the correlation between acute diseases,
such as canine and feline distemper, rabies and feline panleukopenia
and chronic symptoms we are commonly seeing in dogs and cats today. The
chart below is re-printed from his paper. You can see the frightening
implications when reading the chart and you can understand his premise
that it’s very likely that the vaccinations we’ve been giving our animals
for several generations to combat acute infections from the diseases, are
now conferring lifelong chronic afflictions on those same animals.
On the left side of the chart, you see the acute symptoms of canine
distemper and on the right side are the common chronic symptoms. To
see charts for the other diseases Pitcairn studied, please go to his
website and read the whole article.
Now, let’s examine some myths concerning vaccines which have somehow
been elevated to the level of gospel truths in conventional medical circles.
Myth #1: that the administration of vaccines is safe.
A British group, called Canine Health Concern (CHC) analyzed the
post vaccinal histories of 3800 dogs. The whole report can be viewed at
http://www.bogartsdaddy.com/bouvier/health/vaccination-concerns-uk.htm
The quotes below point out some of the pertinent points which
I would like to emphasize, however.
“We have been able to show a definite statistical correlation
between a vaccine event and the onset of a number of specific illnesses.
Our published conclusions have satisfied mathematical or inferential
statistical tests at a level of confidence of 99% or better.
"Overall, we found that 66% per cent of all sick dogs start being
sick within three months of vaccination, which is considerably more than
double the expected rate of illness. Worse, 49% of all illnesses reported
in the survey occurred within 30 days of vaccination. This is over five
times the expected percentage if vaccination had no bearing on subsequent
illness. More damning still, 29% of sick dogs first became sick within
seven days of their vaccine jab. This means that a dog is 13 times more likely
to become ill within seven days of vaccination than at any other time.
In the study, 69.2% of allergic dogs first became allergic within
three months of being vaccinated - more than double the expected number.
55.8% of dogs with autoimmune disease developed the condition within
three months of being vaccinated - again, more than twice the expected
figure. Of dogs with colitis, 65.9% developed the complaint within three
months of being vaccinated and, of dogs with dry eye/conjunctivitis, 70.2%
developed their conditions within three months - both nearly three times
higher than expected. 73.1% of dogs with epilepsy first became epileptic
within three months of vaccination. As 2% of all dogs in the UK are epileptic,
vaccines are clearly causing horrendous damage. For statisticians, our
Chi score for epilepsy is 96: any Chi test statistic higher than twelve
gives a 95% confidence about the conclusions. Without doubt, then, the
majority of epileptic dogs in our survey are vaccine damaged.
"But perhaps most astonishing is the fact that a majority of dogs
(64.9%) with behavioral problems appear to have developed their difficulties
within three months of vaccination. Similarly, 72.5% per cent of dogs
with nervous or worrying dispositions became nervous within three months
of their jabs (with a Chi score of 112), and 73.1% per cent of dogs with
short attention spans lost their attentiveness within three months of
vaccination.
"Other diseases that were highly represented within three months
post vaccination included cancer (35.1%), chorea (81%), encephalitis
(78.6%), heart conditions (39.2%), kidney damage (53.7%), liver damage/failure
(61.5%), paralysis of the rear end (69.2%), and pancreas problems (54.2%)."
Research conducted at Purdue University shows routinely vaccinated
dogs developing auto antibodies to a vast range of normal canine biochemicals
- which corroborates our findings. “
Myth #2: that dogs, once vaccinated, need to be “boosted”
This myth has been perpetuated by veterinarians for at least 50
years, but I am astonished when I think about this fact, because it
doesn’t even make logical sense to me. I am extremely annoyed at myself
for ever allowing myself to have believed something so absurd. Now,
from two top immunologists, Ron Schultz, DVM and Tom Phillips, DVM,
here is a quote confirming that it just isn’t so. The quote is from Kirk’
Current Veterinary Therapy 1992:
"A practice that was started many years ago and that lacks scientific
validity or verification is annual revaccination. Almost without
exception there is no immunologic requirement for annual revaccination.
Immunity to viruses persists for years or for the life of the animal......
Furthermore, revaccination with most viral vaccines fails to stimulate
an anamnestic (secondary) response.... The practice of annual vaccination
in our opinion should be considered of questionable efficacy..."
Myth #3: that vaccines protect against the diseases as advertised
First, of all, the insert that accompanies all vaccines says that
only healthy animals should be vaccinated. Next, vaccines do not confer
immunity on individuals; instead, they sensitize the body to produce
antibodies. During the period after vaccination, the body is particularly
susceptible to adverse reactions. Again, quoting from the CHC survey,
they discovered the following information.
“Many contend that vaccines are a necessary evil; that we need
them to protect our dogs against certain deadly canine diseases. However,
our survey found that high percentages of dogs are developing the diseases
we vaccinate against, soon after vaccination.
"Of dogs with hepatitis, 64% contracted it within three months
of being vaccinated and, of those with parainfluenza, 50% developed
it within three months of their shots. Also, 69% of dogs with parvovirus,
56% of dogs with distemper, and every single dog with leptospirosis in
the survey contracted the diseases within three months of vaccination.
"Our figures support the view that vaccines don't confer guaranteed
immunity and may actually cause the diseases they're designed to prevent.
Our figures appear to demonstrate that vaccines cause illness in one
in every hundred dogs - and this is a conservative estimate. “
There is so much information on this topic both on the Internet
and in books, that I have compiled a list of sources below for you to
investigate. You will find it at the end of this article.
In conclusion, then, I want to make some suggestions. Also, be
aware, that in the USA, almost every state requires the rabies vaccine.
Therefore, my recommendations cannot include that vaccination. However,
there are some pertinent articles about rabies vaccines in the resources
below.
Ronald Schultz, DVM, is a vaccine researcher and he does believe
in giving “core” vaccinations. I attended a day long seminar he gave on
this topic and he made this important point. He says that you must vaccinate
within the “window of opportunity.” He calls this “immunologic imprinting.”
If you vaccinate an immature immune system, or one not capable of responding
fully, he says you get only a partial response and will never again have
the opportunity to get a complete response. That window, he points out,
occurs after 12 weeks of age in the dog. Therefore, it is his opinion, that
routine vaccinations given before 12 weeks are not indicated except under
very special circumstances.
One of the tremendous advantages of the Internet, is the ability
for “regular” people to communicate and for thousands of people to compare
notes. Through this route, I have discovered that when unvaccinated puppies
are exposed to recently vaccinated dogs (who are therefore
shedding the viral particles), the unvaccinated puppies demonstrate a titer
to the diseases. (A titer is a measure of circulating antibodies.) In fact,
I had a conversation with Harm Hogenesch, another veterinary vaccine researcher
on the Purdue Study. He said, “The very best way to protect your dog is
to make sure your neighbor vaccinates *her* dog!”
So, if the veterinarians who are experts in vaccines say we should
wait until after 12 weeks to vaccinate, and the best way to accomplish
that is by allowing our puppies exposure to dogs shedding vaccine particles
into the environment, then it makes sense to me to forgo the actual injection
and simply take the puppy to puppy kindergarten or the park. Is there
a risk that our puppies could get sick following this approach? Of course!
Life isn’t safe, but there is also a risk that the puppies could get the
diseases after being vaccinated. It also appears to be true, from reading
many case histories on the Internet, that dogs who get parvovirus after being
vaccinated, are sicker and more likely to die than their unvaccinated counterparts
who also contract the disease.
Most of us, who are led to a study of vaccinosis, do so because
one or more of our dogs (or children) have been irreversibly damaged
or compromised by vaccines. With permission of Mimi Morrell, a Bernese Mountain Dog owner, I would
like to close this article with her words regarding her dog, Izzy. In the
quote, Mimi is answering a person on an email mail list. She says;
"This may seem unthinkable, but there are some dogs for whom no
amount of medicine - holistic or otherwise - will help. They are in extreme
agony and can chew or scratch themselves to the point where euthanasia
seems to be a much kinder thing compared to the hell they live in.
"Today I'm far from making this decision [euthanasia] with my rabies
vaccinosis girl but I often wonder how many more years I'll "put her
through" the suffering of her chronic bloody ear infections. As I witness
each day of her pain - steady again since last September -- I find myself
being able to conceive some day of
what may seem like an absolutely horrible thought. It's not -
when you consider the degree of pain some allergy dogs live with.
"Imagine you are a dog. Imagine your ears constantly bleeding from
open sores and always feeling like there's liquid in your ear canal.
Imagine scratching your chin so much it drips with blood. Imagine not
being able to walk because your paws are so raw from licking them. Imagine
not being able to go 10 minutes without contorting your body to chew your
anus because it itches that much. Imagine not getting any sleep because
you are so uncomfortable. This is what some of our dogs live with at
any given time.
"I'm really sorry for the graphic descriptions. Anyone considering
vaccinating needs to know that these are some of the living consequences
of any given vaccine. Is it worth the risk?
"Mimi"
Sources:
http://k9joy.com/dogarticles/doghealth01vaccine.pdf
http://www.bogartsdaddy.com/bouvier/health/vaccination-concerns-uk.htm
http://www.austinholistic.com/articles/WFalconer001.html
http://www.drpitcairn.com/Talks/TalksSet.html
http://home.revealed.net/rohlfsen/Bubble.html
What's in a vaccine?
http://www.caberfeidh.com/Revax.htm
Christie Keith
http://www.caberfeidh.com/Titers.htm
Christie Keith
http://www.caberfeidh.com/PuppyVax.htm
Christie Keith
http://www.caberfeidh.com/Nosodes.htm
Christie Keith
http://www.caberfeidh.com/VaxNone.htm
Christie Keith
http://cyberpet.com/cyberdog/articles/health/vaccin.htm
Richard Pitcairn,DVM, PhD
http://www.drpitcairn.com/Talks/New%20look%20vaccines/New%20Look%20Vaccines.html-
Richard Pitcairn,DVM, PhD A New Look at the Vaccine Question
http://www.vth.colostate.edu/vth/savp2.html Colorado State protocol
http://www.thinktwice.com/
Think Twice
http://www.blakkatz.com/vaccination.html
Blakkatz
http://members.aol.com/abywood/www/dbmay.htm
Catherine O'Driscoll
http://www.shirleys-wellness-cafe.com/animals.htm
Shirley's Wellness Cafe
http://vaccineinfo.net/ Vaccine
Info (PROVE)
http://www.healthy.net/asp/templates/article.asp?PageType=Article&ID=485
Health World
http://www.naturalholistic.com/handouts/hpmaster.htm
Larry Bernstein, DVM
http://www.shirleys-wellness-cafe.com/petvacc.htm
Ron Schultz, DVM quote at Shirley's Wellness
http://www.whale.to/vaccines.html
Whale vaccine site
http://www.whale.to/vaccines/antibody.html
Antibodies
http://www.austinholistic.com/articles/WFalconer001.html
Will Falconer, DVM
http://www.austinholistic.com/articles/WFalconer002.html
Will Falconer, DVM
http://www.yourpurebredpuppy.com/health/common/vaccinations.html
Your Purebred Puppy
http://www.critterfixer.com/pages/v1_new_vacc_protocols.asp
Bob Rogers, DVM
http://www.itsfortheanimals.com/VACCINE1.HTM
It's For the Animals
http://members.aol.com/abywood/www/vac_myth.htm
Catherine O'Driscoll-myths
http://www.adoredbeast.com/vaccines.shtml
Adored Beast
http://www.positivehealth.com/permit/Articles/Animals/horses.htm
They Shoot Horses...
http://www.vaccines.net/newpage114.htm
Vaccine Safety
http://mercola.com/2002/apr/27/sv40.htm
Joseph Mercola, MD
http://www.vaccinationnews.com/Scandals/past_scandals.htm
Sandy Mintz
http://www.nccn.net/~wwithin/vaccine.htm
Making an informed choice, tons of links
http://www.909shot.com/ National
Vaccine Information Center
http://home.san.rr.com/via/
Pro & Con- Freedom to Choose
http://www.vaccine-info.com/
Childhood vaccination center
http://www.jabs.org.uk/ Vaccine
damaged children support group
http://www.geocities.com/~kremersark/newhope.html
Education before vaccination
http://www.doglogic.com/vaccineinfo.htm
Doglogic
http://www.labbies.com/immun.htm
Vaccines, Infectious Diseases and the Canine Immune System
http://www.listservice.net/wellpet/vaccines/rabies.htm
Susan Beal, DVM on rabies
http://www.naturalrearing.com/ARTICLES/GuestAuthors/RABIESSCAM.html
John Fudens, DVM
Each of the websites below is available without joining an email discussion
list, but each website grew out of such a list. The lists are highly informative
and joining them is recommended. To join the lists go to http://groups.yahoo.com/ and put the respective names (below)
in the search box and follow directions.
http://truthaboutvaccines.org/articles.html
TruthAboutVaccines website articles
http://www.pets4homeopathy.com/articlesp4hvaccinosis.html
Pets4Homeopathy
http://aunaturelk9s.com/Vaccinationinfo.html
Aunaturelk9s website
Books
O'DRISCOLL, Catherine, What Vets Don't Tell You About Vaccines,
Longor, Derbyshire, England : Abbeywood Publishing (Vaccines)
Ltd,
1998, ISBN 0-9523048-3-X
DIODATI., Catherine J. M. "Vaccine Guide for Dogs and Cats,
What Every Pet Lover Should Know" ISBN: 1-881217-34-5
It is an excellent resource with loads of references at the back
of the book.. Catherine takes each canine and feline vaccine and the conditions
it can cause and what it does not do.
Canadian Cover price: $20.00 Postage: $2.10 GST: $1.55 Total $23.65
Email Catherine for the book in Canada: mailto:diodati@mnsi.net
US or rest of the earth: http://www.thinktwice.com/ani.htm US
price $13.95
MCKAY, Pat, Natural Immunity Why You Should NOT Vaccinate,
Pasadena, California : Oscar Publications, 1997, ISBN 0-9632394-2-2
MILLER, Neil Z., Vaccines : are they really safe and effective?,
Santa Fe, New Mexico : New Atlantean Press, 2002, ISBN 1-881217-30-2,
http://www.thinktwice.com
COULTER, Harris, A Shot in the Dark : why the P in the DPT
vaccination may be hazardous to your child's health, New York,
New
York : Penguin Putman Inc, 1991, ISBN 0-89529-463-X