Vets’ vaccine alert after claims of dog deaths

THOUSANDS of dogs are dying or suffering severe allergic reactions after being treated with a vaccine meant to protect them against mild bacterial infections, their owners claim.

Fears over the safety of the vaccine against leptospirosis – a bacterial infection spread through rats and wild animals – have led veterinary organisations to issue warnings about its side effects.

The World Small Animal Veterinary Association (WSAVA) is urging owners not to use Nobivac L4 vaccine on puppies under 12 weeks old. However,

can reveal that vets are still administering it to dogs from seven weeks old.

Reports by pet owners to the Government’s Veterinary Medicines Directorate (VMD), which regulates animal drugs, suggest that at least 120 dogs may have died after receiving a dosage in the three years the vaccine has been available. Over the past two years, the regulator has had 2,000 reports of suspected adverse or fatal reactions.

Leptospirosis can cause kidney problems and death in extreme cases, but it is not recommended that a “core” vaccine be given routinely.

Owners have reported side-effects including epileptic fits, swollen glands and blindness.

Carol Blackburn-Harvey, a breeder who has sold dogs to the likes of Dame Elizabeth Taylor, said her rare Russian tsvetnaya bolonka, which featured in adverts and the Sky documentary

died weeks after being vaccinated. She said that her dog had become “overbalanced” and struggled to walk.

The vaccine, manufactured by MSD Animal Health, a subsidiary of US conglomerate Merck Sharp & Dohme, is being monitored by the VMD. But the regulator has refused to give the total number of animals affected, prompting concern that the scale of the problem is being hidden. The regulator also declined to say whether it will consider taking the vaccine off the market, as its researchers have so far failed to find enough evidence linking it to deaths.

In 2014, the European Medicines Agency requested that warnings be added to the vaccine so that the “risks of the product are fully understood”.

MSD Animal Health says L4 is one of the most widely used dog vaccines, and reports of adverse effects are “rare” and fully investigated.

A spokesman said: “It is important to critically examine the facts relating to adverse events versus anecdotes not substantiated by science and medical evidence. The adverse event may have been related to an underlying disease, using other drugs at the same time or other non-drug-related causes.”