Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Vaccinating 6-week-old kittens against common cat viruses helps
By Dawson, S et al.·Published in Journal of feline medicine and surgery·2001·Department of Veterinary Clinical Science and Animal Husbandry, United Kingdom·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: A field trial to assess the effect of vaccination against feline herpesvirus, feline calicivirus and feline panleucopenia virus in 6-week-old kittens.
- Species:
- cat
Plain-English summary
A group of 6-week-old kittens received a vaccine to protect against three serious viruses: feline herpesvirus, feline calicivirus, and feline panleucopenia. Those vaccinated early at 6 weeks showed a strong immune response by 9 weeks, compared to their unvaccinated siblings. However, by 12 and 15 weeks, both early and conventionally vaccinated kittens had similar levels of protection. This suggests that vaccinating kittens as young as 6 weeks can effectively help them build immunity against these viruses.
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Abstract
A trivalent (feline panleucopenia, feline herpesvirus, feline calicivirus), modified live, commercially available cat vaccine was used at either 6, 9 and 12 weeks of age (early schedule) or 9 and 12 weeks of age (conventional schedule), and the serological response to vaccination was assessed. The level of maternally derived antibody present at 6 weeks of age was also established. The use of early vaccination at 6 weeks of age induced an antibody response to each virus by 9 weeks of age in a significant proportion of kittens compared with unvaccinated littermates. There was no difference between the conventionally and early-vaccinated groups in terms of antibody response to any antigen by 12 and 15 weeks of age.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/11716626/