Tetanus vaccination - Why so often?

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Zipzop

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Humans are only required to be revaccinated every ten years. So why are horses not done every ten years?
We are both mammals and im assuming the body deals with cuts and infections the same way so why do we repeatedly revaccinate the Tetanus if our immunity lasts for ten years?
Help!
 
I would imagine because humans are directed to have a booster if they get a tetanus high risk wound and horses are in high risk environments? (just guessing mind you!)
 
Horses area very susceptible to tetanus. Our local vets have several cases every year with non-vaccinated animals which they always remind us of in their newsletter.

A human will get tetanus from a dirty wound - soil, rusty nail, and I heard of one farmer's wife who cut her leg by just swinging a metal bucket which gave her a cut which she died of. Whereas a horse spends it life in a dirty environment.
 
Yes and so many people don't get their horses vaccinated for it. Was always taught if you get vaccinated for nothing else never miss the tetanus.
 
A very interesting question. There is much work coming to light in this area with dogs and cats. Especially as concerns have been rising regarding side effects and chronic disease which are potentially linked to overvaccination. I have not read any literature on horses but I have followed the science and work being done by Dr Shultz and others concerning immunity in dogs and cats. It has been repeatedly demonstrated through blood testing that often dogs will retain immunity against different diseases for several years and in some cases develop lifelong immunity after inital correct vaccination. This renders the annual vaccinations pretty useless which is ofcourse a hot topic as it is a good earner for many vets. As someone once said to me, 'you cannot immunise an animal that is already immune'. All to do with complex biology which is way beyond me. I just read the articles and follow the science. So I guess the moral of the story is that is you wish to keep your horse protected from disease but reduce the potential side effects of overvaccination, then blood test your horse to establish their immunity status before taking action.
 
Probably because no one has done the studies to show how long tetanus immunity lasts in horses (or if they have, they're keeping it to themselves). The ideal way to do it would be to measure antibody titres and only revaccinate if the titre falls below a certain threshold. But this would likely cost more than just giving a booster so...
 
Vaccination brings up a whole can of worms on both sides of the argument - just look at the now discredited research linking MMR with autism. However horses live with constant potential exposure to tetanus and they are also covered in hair. Whereas a human can easily be directed to go and get a booster after a possible contaminated scratch, it's not so simple for an equine. Therefore whatever your views about it being a nice little earner for vets, to not give at least tetanus is irresponsible imo. Given our vet charges £40 for flu/tet, it's hardly a huge amount for them once a year, is it? Most people spend far more than than on feed in a few weeks.
 
Most people, not all, are focusing on the money side. The cost is completely by the by. What I am concerned about is vaccine damage caused by repeated over vaccination. This is a huge issue for me. the money is absolutely not the issue. It's not about whether I line the vets pocket it's how much more damage will be done to our horses for repeated and unnecessary vaccines when the horse may already have immunity. I would rather pay much more for a titer test than £40 on a vaccine.
 
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Last time I cut myself badly, the hospital said that I didn't need a tetanus jab even though it was more than 10 years since my last one as I was probably immune. I'm still alive :-)
 
Zipzop said:
Most people, not all, are focusing on the money side. The cost is completely by the by. What I am concerned about is vaccine damage caused by repeated over vaccination. This is a huge issue for me. the money is absolutely not the issue. It's not about whether I line the vets pocket it's how much more damage will be done to our horses for repeated and unnecessary vaccines when the horse may already have immunity. I would rather pay much more for a titer test than £40 on a vaccine.
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That's fine but anyone who competes has to vaccinate in accordance with Jockey Club rules.
 
Buddy'sMum said:
Probably because no one has done the studies to show how long tetanus immunity lasts in horses (or if they have, they're keeping it to themselves). .
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I understood this was the reason. There is a cheap vaccine available so why spend the money doing a study as to how long the immunity lasts. The more sceptical would of course think why would the drug companies do a study when, if it showed tetanus was needed less often, it is not going to help their profits!!
 
Buddy'sMum said:
That's fine but anyone who competes has to vaccinate in accordance with Jockey Club rules.
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JC rules cover flu vaccination, not tetanus, it is simple to do both at once in a combined vaccine, my vets use the flu only one year the combined the next so they get the tetanus vaccine every two years.
 
be positive said:
JC rules cover flu vaccination, not tetanus, it is simple to do both at once in a combined vaccine, my vets use the flu only one year the combined the next so they get the tetanus vaccine every two years.
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The majority do this now. Some trainers vaccinate every 6 months, the majority the usual once a year. Every other year for tetnus. Quite a few yards in big training centres or that have horses in and out of the country all the time also vacc for herpes.
 
be positive said:
JC rules cover flu vaccination, not tetanus, it is simple to do both at once in a combined vaccine, my vets use the flu only one year the combined the next so they get the tetanus vaccine every two years.
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I know, just thought it was worth reminding the OP that many of us have to vaccinate regularly, whether or not we think antibody titres would be a better way to do things :)
 
Of those reactions what ones have been reported in horses following tetanus jabs? Having seen a horse have to be PTS in this country with tetanus it's not a risk I'm going to take personally! FEI only covers flu but mine were also covered with west nile. We don't do herpes at the moment as we don't breed.
 
Franks latest was recommended 3years not to two which makes me think someone must have done some titre test research to extend it?
 
Tetanus is an horrific illness, and it can take upto two weeks from infection to being symptomatic (and therefore to late to treat with antibiotics). Supportive therapy is all that is available if no original site of infection is found, by which time your horse is susceptible to tetanic seizures and suffocation as the proteins produced by the bacteria attach themselves to the neurons.

The mortality rate is over 50% once symptomatic and horses may be left with sequelae.

It is the one thing that all of my vets have stated - it is the one vaccine that they would never miss on their own horses. The risk of overvaccination compared to the risk of contracting tetanus is a "no brainer."
 
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/m/pubmed/26284567/
Abstract
REASONS FOR PERFORMING STUDY: Recommendations for prophylactic vaccination against tetanus in horses vary greatly between countries and have scarce scientific support in the peer-reviewed literature. In human medicine, recommended booster vaccination intervals are also very variable, but are considerably longer than for horses. More information is needed about the duration of immunity induced by modern vaccines.

OBJECTIVES: To investigate if the duration of antibody titres previously determined to be protective against tetanus differ from what is indicated by recommended vaccination intervals for horses.

STUDY DESIGN: Prospective seroconversion study.

METHODS: Thirty-four horses were enrolled for basic immunisation with an ISCOM Matrix-combination vaccine (Equilis Prequenza Te). Horses received the first vaccination at age 5-11 months, and the second dose 4 weeks later. A third vaccine dose was given 15-17 months after the second dose. Serum tetanus antibody titres were analysed by toxin-binding enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay 2 weeks as well as 14-16 months after the second dose. After the third vaccine dose, titres were checked once yearly for 3 years. Results were described by age and level of antibody titre at first sampling.

RESULTS: Two weeks after the second dose, all horses (34/34) had antibody levels that exceeded the limit of detection, 0.04 iu/ml. After 16 months the levels were above 0.04 iu/ml in 28/33 horses, the remaining 5 horses potentially had suboptimal protection against tetanus. After the third vaccine dose antibody levels remained above 0.04 iu/ml in 25/26 horses for 1 year, 16/16 horses for 2 years, and 8/8 horses for 3 years.

CONCLUSIONS: Horses that undergo basic immunisation with 3 doses of vaccine after age 5 months are likely to have serum antibody titres consistent with protection against tetanus for more than 3 years. Current guidelines for tetanus prophylaxis should be revised.


Yup that's what I meant rara, someone must have done something at least ;) and be strange to do themselves out of more dosh really ;) not that new vet knew that :p
 
Study sizes still pretty tiny really! It's just too expensive to do 'properly' sadly! Especially when so few adverse reactions to current routines are reported.
 
Horses are living longer, and more importantly, working longer than ever before, so where is the damage? I think all vets do a 2 year tetanus injection now, rather than annual.

I've seen in the USA that some horses get up to 6 different vaccinations on one visit from the vet to protect them from various diseases.
 
rara007 said:
Study sizes still pretty tiny really! It's just too expensive to do 'properly' sadly! Especially when so few adverse reactions to current routines are reported.
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Yup just thought others might want to read it, as you say it really worth anyone doing
 
Orangehorse said:
Horses are living longer, and more importantly, working longer than ever before, so where is the damage?
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From what I have read (I am absolutely no expert but I have done considerable reading on the subject over the years) there seems to be growing body of evidence certainly regarding vaccinosis (overvaccination) in pets, namely cats and dogs - potential links to autoimmune disease and chronic illnesses. Vaccinations contains additional chemicals called adjuvants to enhance the body's immune response. Most of these chemicals are pretty toxic yet they are added because it is easier and cheaper for the manufacturers.

I don't think anybody is questioning the importance of vaccinations or the value they have in preventing disease and saving lives.

However, the frequency of many of the vaccination schedules in animals, unlike humans, seems to be based on tradition rather than science and evidence. Take the legal requirement for 3 year rabies vaccination in dogs in the USA for example. The evidence demonstrates that dogs retain immunity for many more years, yet the law is clearly out of step with this science and the 3 year rule applies. Why. You cannot immunise an animal that already has immunity. It is pointless.

Myself, my pets and horses have all been vaccinated. Vaccinations are important. But there are always risks of side effect and the long term consequences of over vaccination are only just starting to be documented. I certainly wouldnt be jabbing myself yearly for the rest of my life with vaccinations with polio, measles, rubella, etc etc. Doesnt make sense that animals need to. Similar biology and all that. It surely makes more sense to be in step with the evidence regarding duration of immunity in animals rather than customs or traditions. :)
 
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