Jubilee Veterinary Centre

Jubilee veterinary centre distemper awareness update

www.jubileevetcentre.co.uk

Distemper, (Dog measles) a disease that has been very effectively controlled in the past with vaccination has been seen in our practice and neighbouring practices recently.

Please note that although distemper is related to measles you cannot catch it from an infected pet.

Clinical signs include sickness and diarrhoea, respiratory symptoms, high fevers and if the disease progresses may also extend to fitting and unfortunately in some cases death. Please note that there are lots of other harmless things that cause the above symptoms so please do not worry needlessly, however if your dog is not vaccinated and displays these signs it would be wise to get checked at the surgery.

Ways to reduce the likelyhood of your dog being exposed to this completely preventable disease include:-

· Making sure you get your new puppy from a reputable source

· Getting a good quality vaccine from your vet. At JUBILEE VET CENTRE we use a vaccine that covers for distemper and 6 other infectious diseases and can be given at 6 weeks and 10 weeks of age conveying full immunity at 11 weeks. Not all vaccines are the same.

· This vaccine should be repeated yearly.

Just like with people, vaccination works most effectively when at least 70% of a susceptible population are vaccinated effectively. In people there was a recurrence of measles when mothers concerned about the MMR vaccine failed to get their children vaccinated and unintentionally left them open to infection.

Jubilee vets advocate responsible pet vaccination. If you have any questions or would like to speak to a vet or book an appointment feel free to call us on 02891812226.

JVC