Merial is a global leader in rabies management and prevention, with a range of vaccines to prevent rabies in pets, farm animals and wildlife. Known for its legacy in rabies prevention, Merial is credited with introducing the world's first rabies vaccine. In 2015, Merial celebrated the 25-year anniversary of its first outdoor field trial on Parramore Island, Va., of RABORAL V-RG, Merial's first wildlife rabies vaccine and still the only oral rabies vaccination bait product licensed for use in the U.S.[3]
Merial Rabies Vaccine Serial Number
Fort Dodge began selling the recalled batch in January 2005. Goss didn't know how many vets bought the problem lot. Fort Dodge tested batches of vaccine with serial numbers issued around that of the affected lot and found no problems, she said.
Fort Dodge Animal Health recalled rabies vaccine Rabvac 3 TF, serial number 873113A. Your vet should notify you if your pet was vaccinated with the problem batch. You can also check the rabies certificate that you should have received, which lists the manufacturer and serial number.
Merial launches IMRAB3 TF in individual-dose packages. This newly licensed product will better meet the needs of veterinary professionals and the growing demand for IMRAB3, the company says. The pharmaceutical manufacturer changed the products label to reflect its thimerosal-free status. The relicensed product was made available to veterinarians in the United States in January. We are adding TF to designate thimerosol-free on the vaccine label because it helps to differentiate this product from the IMRAB3 multi-dose vials, says Dr. Zack Mills, brand director of Merials vaccine group. Merial wants veterinarians to have alternatives when choosing the best medicine for their patients. IMRAB3 gives the practitioner a thimerosal-free alternative rabies vaccine for dogs, cats and ferrets.Thimerosal, which contains mercury, has been used since the 1930s as a preservative in many drugs and vaccines. It has both antibacterial and anti-fungal properties.
Our hospital only uses non-adjuvanted vaccines. An adjuvant is added to a vaccine to stimulate the immune system to react to the vaccine and thus increase the effectiveness of the vaccine (i.e. to make antibodies to protect your cat in the future). Unfortunately, many of the adjuvanted vaccines have come under scrutiny and may be causing a certain type of cancer (fibrosarcoma) in cats. Even though this vaccine-related fibrosarcoma is rare (about 1 in 10,000 cats), it is an aggressive tumor that is difficult to treat. Why take the risk? Our hospital does not use any adjuvanted vaccines for this reason. We strictly follow the American Association of Feline Practitioners (AAFP) Vaccine Guidelines. The AAFP recommends core vaccines (rabies vaccine, FVRCP vaccine) to all cats. The AAFP recommends the non-core feline leukemia vaccine only to at risk cats (i.e. cats that spend any time outside, cats that interact with indoor/outdoor cats). Please visit their website for more information:
Our hospital uses the annual Merial PUREVAX feline rabies vaccine to protect cats against the rabies virus. This vaccine is non-adjuvanted and is currently the safest vaccine available. This vaccine is required for all cats.
We use the safest vaccines currently available. We have chosen the above vaccines and follow the current AAFP Vaccine Guidelines to (1) minimize the number of vaccines we are administering to our patients and (2) to minimize the number of side effects to our patients. Even with our best intentions, a very few number of cats may still have a vaccine reaction. Below is a summary of these reactions and what you should monitor. If your cat has had a vaccine reaction, we will need to tailor a specific vaccine protocol for your individual cat to help avoid such reactions in the future.
Dogs over the age of four (4) months are required to be vaccinated for rabies by a veterinarian, re-vaccinated one (1) year later, and then every three (3) years thereafter. Proof of current rabies vaccination must be provided upon licensing. Please ask your veterinarian for the certificate which states the lot number / serial number of the vaccination, the producer / manufacturer of the vaccine (example: Merial, Zoetis, Boehringer Ingelheim), the date of the shot and the expiration date.
Our protocols and vaccines follow all of the current guidelines set in place by AAHA and AAFP in order to protect our patients and minimize the chance and number of side effects to our patients. For example, since it became available and was shown to be the safest Rabies vaccination on the market for cats, our hospital has carried the Merial PUREVAX Rabies vaccine to protect cats against the Rabies virus.PUREVAX Feline Rabies is considered a non-adjuvanted vaccine for cats 12 weeks of age and older for the prevention of disease due to Rabies virus. An adjuvant is added to a vaccine to stimulate the immune system and increase the effectiveness of the vaccine, however in recent years some of the vaccines carrying an adjuvant have been linked to serious vaccine reactions in cats.
Join us in the fight to #EndRabies by keeping your pets (dogs, cats and ferrets) up-to-date on their rabies vaccination. You can also vaccinate livestock such as horses, cows and sheep. Species for which licensed rabies vaccines are not available (goat and swine), that have frequent contact with humans, or are considered valuable, should also be vaccinated. This not only protects your animal, it protects you and your family from this deadly virus.
The number of rabies-related human deaths has declined from more than 100 annually to one or two per year. Human fatalities associated with rabies occur in people who fail to seek medical assistance, usually because they were unaware of their exposure.
Treatment after rabies exposure consists of a dose of human rabies immune globulin (HRIG) administered as soon as possible after exposure, plus 4 doses of rabies vaccine given over two weeks. If there is a wound, the full dose of HRIG should go into the wound, if possible. The first vaccine dose is given at the same time, with the remaining injections given on days 3, 7 and 14 following the initial injection. People who have weakened immune systems may require a fifth dose of vaccine, as determined by their doctor.
The best way to keep pets safe from rabies is to vaccinate them and keep their shots up-to-date. If your pet has been injured by a rabid animal, contact your veterinarian to get medical care. Even though your pet has been vaccinated, a booster dose of rabies vaccine may be needed within five days of the incident. Contact your county health department to determine what additional follow-up may be needed.
The county health department is your best source of additional rabies information. The phone number for your county health department can be found in the government listing of your telephone directory or the NYSDOH website.
Background:Rabies is an infrequently encountered neurologic disease of equids. While the incidence of rabies in horses is low, the disease is invariably fatal and has considerable public health significance. The rabies vaccine is a core vaccine that should be administered to all equids annually. Exposure occurs through the bite of an infected (rabid) animal, typically from a wildlife source such as raccoon, fox, skunk, or bat. Rabies is endemic in every state in the United States (except Hawaii), whether terrestrial or in the bat population. Bites to horses occur most often on the muzzle, face, and lower limbs. The virus migrates via nerves to the brain where it initiates rapidly progressive, invariably fatal encephalitis.Vaccines:Several vaccines are licensed for rabies prophylaxis in horses. All are inactivated tissue culture -derived products. Some are labeled for mixed animal species and some for horses only. They are available as a monovalent vaccine or in combination with other antigens. Rabies is an excellent immunogen and these vaccines induce a strong serologic response after a single dose and are licensed for 12-14 months of protection.Vaccination Schedules:Vaccination by a licensed veterinarian may be required by state law for rabies vaccine to be considered valid. The majority of the states require rabies to be administered by or under the supervision of a licensed veterinarian.Unvaccinated adult horses: Administer a single dose and revaccinate annually. Vaccinated adult horses: Revaccinate annually.Pregnant mares: Currently, no vaccine is labelled for use in pregnant mares. Veterinarians have used rabies vaccinations in this population. Mares may be vaccinated before breeding or 4 to 6 weeks before foaling.
You might have noticed that rabies vaccines are labeled for either one year or three years. What is the difference between the two vaccines? The answer is that there is no difference. It is the exact same vaccine.
The annual revaccination recommendation on the vaccine label is just that: a recommendation without the backing of long term duration of immunity studies, and, surprisingly, it is not a legal requirement. Rabies vaccine is the only commonly used vaccine that requires that duration of immunity studies be carried out before licensing in the United States. Even with rabies vaccines, the label may be misleading in that a three year duration of immunity product may also be labeled and sold as a one year duration of immunity product.
Corey F Saba Department of Small Animal Medicine and Surgery, College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Georgia, Athens, GA, USA Abstract: Feline injection site sarcomas (FISS; also known as vaccine-associated sarcomas) have been recognized for >20 years. Although uncommon, these tumors are iatrogenic, and vaccination against rabies and feline leukemia virus is perhaps the most common inciting cause. The exact etiopathogenesis is unknown, but it is widely accepted that inflammation induced by vaccines or other injections likely plays a critical role in tumor development. Injection site sarcomas are extremely locally invasive. Multimodal therapy, incorporating combinations of surgery, radiation therapy, and sometimes chemotherapy or immunotherapy, is recommended. However, tumor recurrences are common even with aggressive treatment, and many cats with FISS ultimately succumb to this devastating disease. While vaccination protocols play an important role in the management and control of infectious disease, veterinarians must be diligent in following established vaccination guidelines to minimize individual patient risk of FISS development. Early tumor detection and client education are also vital in the successful treatment of FISS. Keywords: injection site sarcoma, cat, cancer, oncology 2ff7e9595c
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