Does anyone know how the new vaccine works? Two of my dogs (adult dogs) were just due the lepto vaccine this year and got the new lepto 4 which comes in 2 parts. They had the 1st part in April and I was supposed to take them back for the 2nd 4 to 6 weeks later and forgot :(  I called just now, 9 weeks later and was told that I had to start the whole thing again. That makes no sense to me. I'm happy to pay for the 2nd part only, which would have been free had I remembered in time but I don't want them to have the 1st vaccine again. The receptionist said I couldn't do this, does anyone know why?

Because, in order to boost the 1st vaccine adequately, the 2nd has to be given in a certain timeframe.  Same as all vaccinations which come in multiple parts.

I understood that initial vaccines come in multiple parts because pups may still have maternal antibodies? The lepto 4 data sheet says initially 2 parts in pups from 8 weeks old, with the 2nd given after 12 weeks but then a single yearly dose. I wonder why adult dogs then can't just have that single yearly dose?

Daisy had the new jab earlier this year after not being vaccinated for five years, she had to have it in two parts.

The lepto 4 vaccine vaccinates against 4 strains of lepto - 2 strains of which your dog won't have ever had a vaccination for, before.  For those 2 parts to work, the jab needs to be given twice.

Maternal antibodies are not the only reason puppies have 2 jabs - if vaccinating an adult dog which has never been vaccinated before, 2 vaccinations are still recommended by the manufacturers.  (This is why some vets insist that 2 vaccinations should be given if your dog falls behind on annual vax - but in reality, it is overkill if your dog has been vax before, because a single vax is sufficient to boost a previously vaccinated dog, even if it was vaccinated longer than a few years ago.)

It's the same as the hepatitis B vax for people, which actually requires 3 vaccinations at certain intervals to be effective - not just one - even if you are vaccinated as an adult, as most people in the UK are because we don't routinely vaccinate babies for hep B...

I think I will have a real struggle with the lepto 4 vax when it comes in at my vets, because I don't want my dogs to have a full vaccination for everything, twice, just to ensure the lepto 4 part of it works - when they are unlikely to encounter those 2 strains of lepto anyway.  The risks may well outweigh the benefits.  I don't vaccinate annually anyway, just do puppy jabs and 1st year booster - and then sometimes another booster at age 5-7yrs.

Maternal antibodies are not the only reason puppies have 2 jabs - if vaccinating an adult dog which has never been vaccinated before, 2 vaccinations are still recommended by the manufacturers.  (This is why some vets insist that 2 vaccinations should be given if your dog falls behind on annual vax - but in reality, it is overkill if your dog has been vax before, because a single vax is sufficient to boost a previously vaccinated dog, even if it was vaccinated longer than a few years ago.)

From research I have done regarding vaccinations for dogs, only Duramune requires 2 doses for dogs over 10 weeks of age, which means vets not using Duramune who double vaccinate over 10 week old dogs are going against the manufacturer's protocols !

In some European countries it is the norm to titre test puppies before they are vaccinated 

There are over 230 types of  leptospirosis and the vaccine only covers about 4 of them, there are very few confirmed cases of lepto in the UK although vets like to tell you that their is a high risk. In a report I read the risk was something like 0.0065% of catching the disease. Yet the side affects and reactions to the vaccinations is the highest of all the vaccines.
The following link gives a lot more specific information.

http://dr-jordan.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/LEPTOMANIA-by-Dr.-Patricia-Jordan.pdf

This is another article about the non core vaccines including leptospirosis.

http://caninehealthconcern.wordpress.com/2014/02/05/non-core-vaccines/

Interestingly there is no effective human vaccine for leptospirosis, if there were people who work on sewage and water treatment plants and rat catchers would be given it, there are actually very few confirmed cases on the public health records and the majority of those confirmed cases the  disease originated abroad.

The World Small Animals veterinary Association (WSAVA) recommendation is to only give lepto vaccine in areas of high risk, but the veterinary profession choose to ignore it. The UK is not a high risk area.
It has more to do with getting clients to bring in their  dogs for annual health checks, as a lot of owners would not bother otherwise. Obviously these checks are very important to diagnose undetected health issues and maintain good health, but for the vast majority of dogs the risk of side effects from the vaccination outweighs the risk of contracting the disease.

>there are actually very few confirmed cases on the public health records and the majority of those confirmed cases the  disease originated abroad.

Andy Holmes, one of Sir Steve Redgrave's olympic rowing partners, died of it, contacted in the UK. The risk is real.

Andy Holmes, one of Sir Steve Redgrave's olympic rowing partners, died of it, contacted in the UK. The risk is real.

Did he catch from a dog ?

I can't help you re this case, but Lepto is usually spread by rats.

Mine haven't had this yet but presumably will when their Lepto. booster is done next Spring ..............!! If it's necessary I suppose it has to be given.   I've just checked and both had Lepto 2 last time.

>Did he catch from a dog ?

He caught it the same way that dogs catch it; from getting wet by a contaminated watercourse.

The incidence of Lepto in humans is very low.

http://www.hpa.org.uk/webw/HPAweb&HPAwebStandard/HPAweb_C/1317139445731

These are figures for 2012, so the chap who died must have been very unlucky and perhaps the condition wasn't diagnosed or he had other health issues that left him susceptible,  who knows..
If there was an effective vaccination for humans then it would be given to people likely to come into contact with water.
From tests of immunity it has been found that dogs who spend a lot of time around water, and areas where there are rats, have actually built up there own immunity.
The are 230 types of leptospirosis  and even the Lepto 4 only covers about 6 of them and then only very short term.
The Lepto vaccine is the one that carries the highest risk, but the actual risk of getting the disease is extremely low.

>even the Lepto 4 only covers about 6 of them

I think it covers 4, the clue is in the name :-)  I believe these are the 4 commonest strains.

My dogs are in water daily, I can't keep them out, they paddle in lochs, canals, rivers and streams. If it was just locally I'd be happier with the acquired immunity argument but we travel a bit too, last month they were paddling in Bewl water in Kent and the Rhine in Germany.

He caught it the same way that dogs catch it; from getting wet by a contaminated watercourse.

Hm the Coronary's decision wasn't quite that cut & dried

Apparently he had blisters on his hands went he fell into the water during a rowing marathon

"Dr Istvan Bodi, a consultant neuro­pathologist, told the hearing that he had confirmed the diagnosis of Weil's disease during an autopsy. "This type of bacteria is quite widespread in wild animals," he said.

"I think the theory is that contaminated water got into circulation via minor injuries. The chances of recovery from this condition would be very low. It wasn't only the brain, basically every single organ was infected."
"

He didn't simply get wet in contaminated water.

Many super fit people actually push their immune system to the limits by their fitness regime, which explains why many sports people get more frequent illnesses than someone with a less stressed immune system could recover from quicker, or possibly never fully develop

I was trying to clarify why his dying was connected to dogs having Leptospirosis vaccinations

>He didn't simply get wet in contaminated water.

No; the contaminated water entered his body; it can be through a wound (in this case blisters) or ingested if you fall in.

>I was trying to clarify why his dying was connected to dogs having Leptospirosis vaccinations

It was a demonstration that leptospirosis isn't the insignifcant minor illness that some people would have others believe. If there was a lepto vaccine fpor people it would save a few lives each year. Luckily dogs have a vaccine against it.

Weils disease is classed as a rare condition in humans & many animals have immunity to it(if they didn't they would be dead & dying at an alarming rate)

You stated "he got wet in contaminated water" you never mentioned the fact that he had open wounds(ie blisters), nor that he was a super fit athlete(which he was)& ergo more susceptible to diseases like Weils which need a robust & not challenged immune system to  be able to combat it with the help of drugs etc

If there were a high level of risk in "New World" countries, there would have been much more research done & a working vaccine developed by now for humans

If the vaccine for Lepto is so good why do dogs that have "up to date" vaccinations still contract the disease ?

Apparently the new Lepto 4 vaccine is actually safer than the old Lepto 2 vaccine - in that it causes fewer vaccine reactions.  (Lepto used to cause most vaccine reactions, out of all the vaccines.)  So they have made something more effective which causes less reactions, it sounds like a win-win to me. 

Except for those of us who have to transition across and give 2 jabs not just of lepto (it sounds like) but of everything else?

>Except for those of us who have to transition across and give 2 jabs not just of lepto (it sounds like) but of everything else?

Why would that be? The Lepto 4 is a separate vaccine (as is Lepto 2), not combined with DHP.

It amazes me that vets in the UK claim that leptospirosis is rife when the figures prove otherwise.  One of the vaccine manufacturers has a reporting system and they say that out of the millions of dogs in the UK only about 250 contract leptospirosis each year.  According to the NHS less than 40 people per year get it.  Those numbers are miniscule.  It's easily treated with antibiotics and the vaccine only contains 4 serovars out of the over 200 that are out there, so the odds of a dog contracting it are almost non existent, the odds of them getting one of the 4 out of the 200 types makes it even less likely that they'll get it and if you actually ask a vet when they last saw a case some say not for over 30 years.

I asked my vet if he would give the lepto 4 and he said that he can't remember the last time he saw a case of lepto.  Of course you can be unlucky, but if you ask the vet's advice, it may be prudent to take it.