Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Giardia vaccine did not clear infection in asymptomatic dogs
By Anderson, Kirsten A et al.·Published in The Canadian veterinary journal = La revue veterinaire canadienne·2004·University of Guelph, Canada·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Impact of Giardia vaccination on asymptomatic Giardia infections in dogs at a research facility.
- Species:
- dog
Plain-English summary
A group of asymptomatic dogs at a research facility was tested for Giardia, a parasite that can cause gastrointestinal issues. Out of 107 dogs, 11% were found to be infected. To see if a Giardia vaccine could help, some of these dogs received the vaccine while others got a placebo. Over six months, the vaccinated dogs initially had more positive tests for Giardia, but by the end of the study, the vaccine did not show a significant benefit in reducing infections compared to the placebo. This suggests that the vaccine is not an effective treatment for dogs already carrying Giardia without symptoms.
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Abstract
Feces were collected from 107 asymptomatic dogs at a research facility in Guelph, Ontario. The prevalence of Giardia infection was 11% (12/107). To assess the effectiveness of Giardia vaccination for treatment of Giardia carriage, 9 additional asymptomatic Giardia antigen-positive dogs were brought into the facility. The Giardia antigen-positive dogs were then randomly allocated to receive either vaccine (n = 10) or a saline placebo (n = 10). Feces were then monitored monthly for 6 mo for Giardia antigen and Giardia cysts. At weeks 4, 8, 12, and 16 following vaccination, there were more Giardia-positive dogs in the vaccinated group (10/10, 9/10, 9/10, 8/10, respectively) compared with the controls (7/10, 7/10, 8/10, 4/10, respectively). At week 20, an equal number of dogs (5/10) were Giardia positive, and at week 24, fewer dogs were positive in the vaccinated group than in the control group (2/10 versus 5/10, respectively). However, there was no significant difference between the 2 groups. Vaccination was, therefore, not an effective treatment for asymptomatic canine Giardia infections in this setting.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/15600158/