2nd Annual Conference - June 2003

VACCINATION OF NON-DOMESTIC CARNIVORES

Joost Philippa, Institute of Virology, Erasmus Medical Centre, Rotterdam, The Netherlands.

Vaccination is one of the preventive measures that are especially important in the management of non-domestic animals kept in permanent zoo exhibits or rehabilitation centres, due to the difficulty of physical examination in these species. Vaccination of rehabilitated or translocated animals protects them from endemic pathogens in the reception area, and prevents the spread of potentially dangerous pathogens into the area. Oral vaccination campaigns of free-ranging carnivores have aided in the eradication of rabies virus from certain areas, and may be used in the eradication of other diseases in the future. Non-domestic carnivores are susceptible to infection by many of the pathogens commonly encountered in domestic dogs and cats. Vaccines have been produced and registered for use in these domestic species. Their use in non-domestic species is usually based on anecdotal/personal experiences, or limited published data, and vaccination regimes cannot be directly extrapolated from those used in domestic animals. The risk of such off-label use includes failure to produce an immunologic response, or vaccine-induced disease with concurrent shedding of virulent virus, or death. These factors illustrate the need for more research into safe and efficacious vaccines to be used in non-domestic carnivore species.

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