Antibody titers are tools to assess a patient’s immune response to vaccination for certain diseases. to measure that concerns about overvaccination and vaccine-associated injuries have grown in human medicinethese same concerns have spilled over into veterinary medicine and have led pet owners to question their veterinarian’s recommended vaccination protocols.
In this sense, Richard Fordexpert in vaccination protocols and member of the American Animal Hospital Association (AAHA), has made certain considerations about the use of antibody tests in small animal vaccination plans and has encouraged veterinarians to use them to assess response to vaccines and adapt vaccination protocols.
In order to apply these analyses, the expert makes various notes on their interpretation. Regarding the reading of the results of the titration tests, it is important to clarify that not all the titles analyzed are equally valid or have the same significance, since “a positive result can have different meanings depending on the title performed”.
For example, Ford notes that “only positive antibody titers for canine distemper virus, parvovirus, adenovirus, and feline panleukopenia can be interpreted as active protection.” On the other hand, in the case of the rabies vaccine, the expert considers that “a positive rabies antibody titer can only be interpreted as exposure to the vaccine, cannot be considered as protective immunity”.
Given these particularities about the relationship between antibody titers and immunity against a certain disease, Ford warns that care must be taken in interpretations, since “a positive result can have different meanings depending on the antibody studied.”
“When a titer produces a negative result for canine distemper, parvovirus, adenovirus, or feline panleukopenia, veterinarians should not assume that an adult patient with a history of previous vaccination is susceptible to the disease,” the expert points out. “Over time, circulating blood antibody levels will decrease in the absence of exposure, but the immune system possesses memory that can mount an immune response if encountered with disease”.
However, the titration of antibodies, as long as it is correctly interpreted, It can be useful in cases of animals with a history of adverse reactions to vaccines or immune-mediated problems. The expert believes that, in these situations, a title can help guide patient management and personalize the vaccination protocol.
Ultimately, Ford encouraged veterinarians to “consider titers as a tool that can be used to assess a pet’s response to previous vaccination”. For such work and in order to facilitate the interpretation of the results, the expert comments that “the AAHA vaccine guidelines offer extensive information on antibody titers for vaccine-preventable diseases and can be used as a guide for professionals on when to make the titles and how to interpret them”.
2023-08-14 06:07:02
#Usefulness #antibody #titers #vaccination #protocols
