1402. Is a "4th vaccination" necessary for a puppy imported from Australia?

On Fri, May 3, 2013 at 7:53 PM, n@gmail.com wrote:

hi there,

i have recently bought a puppy (pembroke welsh corgi) from a pet shop (...), and was told to go for a 3rd vaccination by 30th apr. however, i only manage to get him vaccinated today which is 2nd may, due to a bad diarrhea (which lasted more than 2 days) when i just gotten him on the 21th apr but was later recovered after i brought him to see a vet near my house.  but today i went to another vet recommended by the pet shop, and the vet advised me to go for another vaccine a month later as the puppy is a pembroke corgi imported from australia. may i know if this is really advisable and necessary? and the vaccine given was this, both 1ml each (Pfizer brand) believed to be 7in1 as told by the vet;

1) Canine Coronavirus Vaccine
     Killed Virus
    FirstDose® CV
2) Canine Distemper-adenovirus Type 2-parainfluenza-parvovirus Vaccine
     Modified Live Virus
     Leptospira Canicola-icterohaemorrhagiae Bacterin
     VANGUARD® Plus 5/L

so may i know was this vaccine given really a 7in1 and is it a good one? and does the puppy really required a 2nd vaccine of this prior to the annual vaccination? and if a 2nd vaccine is really necessary, i was thinking to go down to your clinic instead for the 9in1, which seems to be the best available.

pls kindly advise me ASAP! thank you for your time.

regards
nat



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 I am Dr Sing Kong Yuen from Toa Payoh Vets. Thank you for your email.

In reply:

1. Your "3rd vaccination" was done on May 2, 2013. Your vet recommended another vaccination a month later as the puppy was imported from Australia. You asked whether this "4th vaccination" was advisable. It depends on when this  puppy had its first vaccination and what type of vaccine was given in Australia before exporting to Singapore. If the puppy had been given the vaccination before 6-8 weeks of age as the first vaccination, a 4th vaccine is advisable as the puppy might not have been effectively vaccinated due to the presence of maternal antibodies. This may be getting technical for you.

In brief, a minimum of two vaccinations at 6th-8th week and 10th-12th week of age has been mandated by the AVA before the import of puppies from Australia and before the sale of the puppy. This should include  distemper and parvovirus vaccination given around 3-4 weeks apart.

A 3rd vaccination is recommended by Singapore vets.This makes it a total of 3 vaccinations from the age of 6-8th week, 10-12th week and 14th-16th week for optimal effect. Canine parvovirus and distemper are viral diseases that are still present in Singapore's puppies and the vaccination is effective to prevent these two deadly diseases.

2. Your vet did give the 7-in-1 vaccine. It is a good vaccine as it protects against the important parvoviral and distemper disease components.

3. Your last question is really whether your puppy requires a "4th vaccination" as I presumed it had 2 vaccinations in Australia before exporting to Singapore. As you did not state the dates of vaccination and age of the puppy when vaccinated, it is very difficult to advise. However, the answer is given in Point No. 1.

I hope the above answers your queries as puppy vaccination is a complex issue for most owners and dog breeders. As to the number of vaccinations required, it is best to communicate directly during consultation and examination of your vaccination certificate as each puppy is vaccinated at different ages and with different vaccines used in Australia and Singapore. Best wishes