Intervet extends booster intervals in dogs

The UK can now offer pet owners a canine vaccine which protects dogs against parvovirus, hepatitis and distemper for three years, thanks to developments at Intervet UK.

Intervet’s dog vaccines now have a significant impact on vaccination regimes in the UK and helps to address dog owners’ concerns regarding ‘over-vaccination’. The launch follows many years of research and is a significant milestone in vaccine technology. It means that veterinary practices can now offer a vaccination schedule for dogs which minimises the number of components given annually, but still maintains protection for individual pets.

Intervet has been leading the way for some time in terms of positive changes to canine vaccination regimes in this country. With the new extended duration of immunity, owners can benefit from an improved vaccination strategy which means killer diseases like parvovirus, hepatitis and distemper only have to be boosted every three years.

The company reiterates, however, the continued importance of visiting the vet every year for an annual health check and the ongoing need to boost dogs against other diseases such as leptospirosis.

Leptospirosis is zoonotic, which means it can easily be transmitted from dogs to humans if the animal is not protected. The same level of research has also gone into our leptospirosis vaccine and we know scientifically that protection starts to decrease after one year. Therefore annual boosters for this disease are absolutely imperative.