Government recognises benefits of pet vaccination

DEFRA has confirmed the conclusionreached by an independent expert group report: currently available dog and catvaccines play a very valuable role in the prevention and control of major infectiousdiseases and strongly supports their use. DEFRAs response to the reportproduced by the Veterinary Products Committee (VPC) Working Group on Feline andCanine Vaccination in February 2002, into the issues surrounding the routinevaccination of cats and dogs, was published on 3 July.

We were pleased that the VPC arrivedat these conclusions, and it is extremely satisfying to see them get officialGovernment approval, said David Sutton, chairman of the National Office ofAnimal Healths companion animal vaccine group.

The VPC working group considered anumber of issues including the incidence of adverse reactions. NOAH has alwaysaccepted that adverse reactions can occur, as is the case with any medicine foranimal or human use. However we arepleased with the overall conclusion that vaccination of dogs and cats should beconsidered both safe and effective in keeping our pets healthy, said MrSutton.

One area highlighted in the Reportwas that of feline injection site sarcomas.DEFRA rejected the recommendation contained in the Report that a genericwarning should be placed on the product literature for all feline vaccinesadministered by injection. They said that there was insufficient evidencelinking particular products or particular types of products to the subsequentdevelopment of a fibrosarcoma to justify this. Nevertheless, NOAH recognisesthe concern on feline injection site sarcomas and has already been instrumentalin setting up an interdisciplinary expert working group specifically lookinginto this issue. We support the publication of the CVMP advice to veterinarysurgeons, issued earlier this year, and will work towards a betterunderstanding of the epidemiology and causes of this condition in the UK,added Mr Sutton.

We look forward to working withothers involved with the health of companion animals to take theserecommendations forward. Vaccinationplays a very valuable role in the control of major infectious diseases in catsand dogs and the Report strongly supports its continued use.

Ends

Notes for Editors

1. For further informationplease contact Alison Glennon, 020 8367 3131, or visit the NOAH website, www.noah.co.uk.

2. The National Office ofAnimal Health was formed on 1 January 1986 to represent the UK companies whichresearch, develop, manufacture and market licensed animal health products. Theassociation now has 32 corporate members and 14 associate members. In 2002NOAH's members accounted for well over 90% of the 389 million UK animal healthmarket.

3. The Veterinary ProductsCommittee is an independent expert committee which advises Ministers on thesafety, quality and efficacy of veterinary medicines and promotes thecollection and investigation of information relating to suspected adversereactions to veterinary medicines.

4. Copies of the VMDresponse are available from the VMD website http://www.vmd.gov.uk/.

5. NOAH has produced twobriefing documents on vaccination: 'Vaccination of companion animals' and 'Dogvaccines: your questions answered'. Copies can be downloaded from the NOAH website or are available on request fromNOAH.