Dear Pet Owners
the new vaccination against the canine leishmaniosis is now available at the vet clinica. More then a vaccination it is a inmunmodulation, which means instead of producing antibodies against the desease like other vaccinations, this one stimulates the specific celular inmune system to make it work in a better way.
Let´s do a short review of the inmune system: the dogs (the same like in humans) have a humoral inmune system in charge of producing antibodies for diferent deseases, and there is the celular inmune system, let´s say an armee of cells, which fight and kill other infected cells in the body.
The leishmaniosis is a parasitary desease, concretely it is an intracelular parasite. In this case we don´t want the body to create antibodies, because this would mean that the animal will get ill. With this vaccination we intend to stimulate the specific celular inmune system with it´s killer cells, this killer cells keep the parasit in the infected cell or kill him if he comes out.
More then one owner has asked themself the question why some animals are infected but don´t show the desease and some others get ill. It is assumed that animals that have a really good celular inmune system achieve not developing the desease even if they are infected. Breeds like Boxer, Rottweiler, German Shepard, Doberman and some others genetically dispose a poorer and not so efective celular inmune system
Even with the vaccination we have to go on protecting our animals with collars and monthly spot on´s. The inmunomodulation is a little help in the fight against the leishmaniosis and in some years we will know if the vaccination has fulfilled its mission. The basic vaccination are 3 shots, the first one and then the next one three weeks after, and the third one three weeks after the second one)
There are other products on the marke which try to stimulate the inmune system, recently a new product which active principle is the domperidona and in its studies showed to stimulate in an efective way the non specific celulr inmune system (remember the vaccination against leishmaniosis stimulates the specific celular inmune system)
The more protection we use for our animals, the less posible is that they get the desease. We also recomend not be in the open air on sunsets and if we are in open patios or spaces put mosquito candles or difusors.
Remember also that no vaccination protect 100%!