Does your Veterinarian have a current Rabies Vaccination?
Vaccinate Vets, not Pets!
I was doing some research on Rabies recommendations on the AVMA(American Veterinary Medical Association) website and came across their recommendations to keep veterinary personnel safe from rabies. Here is a tidbit from the article:
Rabies exposure is an occupational hazard for veterinary professionals, and preventive measures are necessary to protect veterinary teams.
Pre-exposure rabies vaccination (also known as pre-exposure prophylaxis or PrEP) is an important part of this protection, as is a rabies antibody titer check, when recommended. And protection doesn’t stop here. PrEP doesn't replace good preventive practices, such as appropriate use of personal protective equipment when handling animals or lab specimens.
The link for the full article is here:
https://www.avma.org/resources-tools/one-health/rabies/rabies-pre-exposure-vaccination-and-titers-veterinarians
One of the key reasons that veterinary clinics give for mandating rabies vaccines is the safety of their personnel. The AVMA never mentions pet vaccines as a way of preventing human exposure to rabies. It recommends that the humans get the shots!
So the next time your vet requires a rabies vaccine for your pet in the interest of human safety, ask if he or she ‘up to date’ on rabies. If they are following the AVMA recommendations and the vaccines are so effective, then it shouldn’t matter if your pet is vaccinated or not!
All the best in Health,
Dr Judy
Thank you, Dr. Judy, for presenting this perspective about the rabies vaccination/veterinary medicine subject. It truly hits home when I already have had a vet clinic deny treating my dogs because I don't want to re-vaccinate them. At the time I hadn't thought to ask them about their human staff status for current rabies protection (if the vaccination is so "critical" for our dogs to "stay healthy"). It seems to me that the odds of encountering a potential rabies infection would be higher for veterinary staff, encountering multiple dogs daily, than it is for an individual dog to encounter a rabid animal in nature, especially in an urban environment.
On another note, I heard your recent podcast on The Raw Dog Food Truth and I appreciate your plan to do an in-depth presentation on rabies. I didn't know how/where else to ask this, but I would also appreciate you addressing the issue of a low titer result (still detectable but below .5IU/mL) as well as just the option of getting a titer test in lieu of re-vaccination to solve the problem. Both Dr. John Robb and Dr. Ron Schultz have stated their position that any measurable antibodies equals immunity. Thank you for your consideration.
I never got the rabies vaccine wile working as a vet tech for 10 years. When the subject was brought up the answer was “it’s expensive, painful and it’s a series of appointments so you need to take time off.” I guess they realized it’s not that important because we have never encountered an actual rabbit animal. I guess the fear it’s only real if there’s a profit.