Question

Since you plan to take your puppy to doggy day care, dog parks, and puppy classes, you follow the vet’s recommendation  and have your puppy immunized with the Bordetella vaccine.  This vaccine should protect your puppy against kennel cough, a respiratory infection mainly caused by the bacteria Bordetella bronchiseptica.  Kennel cough is easily spread among dogs viainfectious aerosol droplets similar to the way common colds viruses are spread among humans.  Rather than being given as an injection, this vaccine is delivered by nose drops (intranasal vaccine); the two doses are given one month apart.  How might the antibody response from this vaccine differ from the parvo vaccine?  

Answer 1

Parvovirus infection, known as 'parvo' is a viral illness that causes vomiting, bloody diarrhea and weight loss in dogs. Parvo is highly infectious, the virus being passed in the feces of dogs sick with parvovirus. The virus can live in the ground for up to 12 months, i.e. it can be picked up from areas that are most visited by dogs. The death rate in young (non-vaccinated) puppies aged between six weeks and six months can be greater than 80 percent. Availability of a highly effective vaccination (4- or 5-way vaccine, DHPP or DHLPP, standing for Distemper, Hepatitis, Leptospira, Parainfluenza and Parvovirus.) can protect your dog against parvovirus, such that, the puppies should receive this vaccine first at 6-8 weeks of age, then at 10-12 weeks and finally at 14-16 weeks. The puppies will not have full immunity against the virus until 2 weeks after the last vaccine.

Canine Parvovirus Vaccine (CPV) is a core vaccine (recommended for all dogs, barring special circumstances), and a modified live vaccine that mimics natural infections. They are based on attenuation (reduction of virulence) of the original virus such that they are limited in their ability to cause illness. The vaccine virus follows the exact same path as the wildtype (original) virus does. This type of vaccine is beneficial because it generally provides a long-lasting immunity. Today's MLV Parvovirus vaccines are less attenuated.

Bordetella bronchiseptica vaccine belongs to the non-core vaccines that are recommended based on the lifestyle and location of the canine. Available as both MLV (modified live vaccine) and killed vaccine. The former intranasal vaccine seems to provide marginally better protection than the latter; injectable form as it mimics the infection and provides best immune response. The dog should receive a booster 2-4 weeks after the initial vaccination, if given the killed injectable vaccine. A single dose of the intranasal vaccine is sufficient in a puppy older than 14 weeks of age, when the maternal antibodies have dropped to undetectable levels.