Doesn't rabies need to be from a bite, ie, saliva into bloodstream? I do vaccinate for rabies, but only because I do not want my dog beheaded for biting someone. As soon as they change the laws, you can bet that will be the last time my dogs are vaccinated. My cats are totally unvaccinated, my Chihuahua has had one rabies shot his entire life, and my GSD puppy will not have one until he's at least a year old. ALWAYS opt for the 3 yr. Hopefully, they'll change this ridiculous protocol soon, since we know they last sooo much longer.

Found this:http://www.animalhealthchannel.com/rabies/

Excerpts:

Rabies is rarely found in smaller mammals such as rabbits, squirrels, rats, and opossums. Rabies virus is in the Rhabdoviridae family. The virus cannot live outside its host's body for more than a couple of seconds, but live virus has been found in animals that have been dead as long as 48 hours.

Transmission
Rabies usually is transmitted through infected saliva as a result of a bite from an infected animal. Rarely, it is transmitted by viral contamination of a fresh wound, through a scratch, or through contamination of a mucous membrane.

Mike, you made a very good point about the dead animals. I forgot about dead birds as well. Thanks for pointing that out.

Jenni, a neighbor behind my house feeds hundreds of birds in his backyard...they drop the bird feed on the ground and as a result I have mice in my backyard all the time grabbing the free food...a pellet gun solves some of the problem but mice bred faster than rabbits---insert joke---and my thinning the herd doesn't really ever get rid of them. Brenna sees them and tries to catch them but so far they're too fast for her...same for the squirrels. The virus might not live long outside of the host, but if she catches one live it will bite her or attempt to before the Black Jaws of Death send them to mouse heaven. I know rodents carry rabies much more than predators, we just don't see it as much as we do predators acting sick and having to be put down by P&W or animal control. That's the only reason why I'll continue to give Brenna the rabies shot.

Denise,

Sorry, I was away a couple of days. Yes it makes a difference. The parvo vaccine is made from an attenuated strain, one which cannot form a full infection in a healthy animal. A dog will shed this strain in its stool for a time post vaccination, but this virus doesn't cause dangerous disease. It is sort of like vaccinia, the virus used to immunize people against smallpox. It is related to smallpox, but normally grows in cows, and has a very limited ability to grow in people. But because of it's close relationship to smallpox, the immune response to vaccinia protects the immunized person from later exposure to smallpox. It can cause serious disease in some immunocompromised people, and another virus was developed that only grows in chicken cells, and this is safer.

Live viral vaccines, whether injected or taken through the skin on the paws, or injested by licking the paws, all elicit the same immune response. The vaccine is meant to be used in a healthy pup, with a healthy immune system. Sick dogs, like sick kids, are not suppossed to be immunized, not because the vaccine is more dangerous, but because it is less effective.

Wild parvo exposure to an unimmunized young dog is dangerous, yes the dog's immune system will mount a response, but the virus may cause a lot of damage before the response really gets going. I imagine that in some pups, maternal antibodies protect the pup from virus.

Polly,

 Quote:

The parvo vaccine is made from an attenuated strain, one which cannot form a full infection in a healthy animal.

Can it form a full infection in an unhealthy animal? Ever? Just wondering...

 Quote:

The vaccine is meant to be used in a healthy pup, with a healthy immune system. Sick dogs, like sick kids, are not suppossed to be immunized, not because the vaccine is more dangerous, but because it is less effective.

So a dog that has a comprimized immune system can't get the illness or damage from the vaccine???? What is the reason that vets can give an exemption to an immune comprimised animal for vaccination if the only danger is that the vaccine does not work? Why do manufacturers reccommend that vaccines are only given to healthy animals if the only danger is that the vaccine is "less effective"? Seems to me that if that was the ONLY danger, vaccination would be reccomended anyways on the chance immunity was acheived.

Things I have wondered.....

On question one, vaccine causing disease in immunocompromised animal... I don't know about parvo, but for vaccinia, there have been cases where people have had very serious complications from the vaccine. One that I remember hearing of was a soldier given vaccinia, and he developed a life threatening viral disease. It turns out he was HIV positive, and had very poor immunity. He was saved by injecting him with sera from people immune to vaccinia. Ever since then , they have been very careful in giving the vaccine. Of course, this was not an issue in the years before smallpox was irradicated.

Question two, you are asking about compromised immun systems, when I wrote about sick animals. A sick animal is not immunocompromised like say, an HIV patient or transplant patient, or cancer patient might be. They do have an activated immune system, but it should be specific to whatever is making them sick. So my understanding is that vaccines are temporarily avoided if an animal is sick, to avoid over immunization, wasting vaccine, etc. Also, if you vaccinate a sick animal, what do you do next, revaccinate just in case, or take a titer? It makes more sense to wait a week until the kid/pup is better.

Exemptions are different. I think they are given either for immunocompromised patients, or those who have shown unusual sensitivity to any vaccine. Animals can be sensitive or allergic to vaccine componants, and in those cases, the vaccine can be more risky then the disease.

My major concern is do I need to consider my yard "infected" as in the normal sense with wild parvo? Do I need to bleach everything. I really want to bring in a puppy but don't want to sign it's death wish in 2-3 weeks either.

I'm going to give the rescue until Friday for the results of all their testing because I feel that it's owed to me for taking care of their dogs. My future regarding another dog is in limbo until then. Having patience is not one of my virtues. lol.

Tell 'em you'll give 'em til Friday to give you full disclosure...or you'll do the same. I don't think they'd appreciate full disclosure as much as you would.

I am a little confused. A little while ago you posted...

"Hey all, good news. I just got an e-mail indicating that the puppy doesn't have parvo. There was a complete blood work up done as well. I have to wait a few days to get the rest of the results of her checkup. I am so relieved."

If the rescue pup does not have Parvo, why are you woried about the yard? To be really safe, you should assume the yard has parvo, as it lives a long time and could have been brought there by some dog or other animal, and keep the new pup off the grass until it has had a few vaccines. It is a pain, but may be safest. In NYC, many people keep their pups inside until they are fully vaccinated. I didn't do that because I wanted to house break early, but I kept him on pavement and raw dirt, kept him away from grass. There is also likely a big difference between a healthy pup born of an immunized or otherwise healthy immune mother, and one born of a poorly fed mother. Your new pup will at least have its mothers antibodies, and that helps a lot.