Keeping Britain’s Pets Healthy Project – About Vaccines
Reducing the Risk of Infectious Disease During Lockdown
Many routine pet vaccinations were temporarily suspended at veterinary practices. However, the best protection for pets is still to keep their vaccinations up to date. If your veterinary practice is now open, remember to contact your vet about going back for any missed vaccination appointments over lockdown as soon as you can.
When you do return to your vet, you are likely to be asked to wait in your car rather than the waiting room so a member of the team can come out to collect your pet. Other social distancing measures may also be in place, if you are uncertain about this make sure you give your practice a call beforehand.
If your practice is not yet open, or you are struggling to book an appointment for the near future, please see our advice on keeping your pets safe: . Read more.
You can also learn more about the diseases that vaccines help protect your pet from here (please choose dog or cat diseases using the icons at the top of the page). The maps highlight some recent confirmed cases of infectious diseases in pets from across the UK.
The map shows the relative proportion of PCR-confirmed cases of feline calicivirus, feline leukaemia and feline panleukopenia by region, submitted to SAVSNET-participating veterinary diagnostic laboratories over the last 3 years. Other tests such as MAT test are more commonly undertaken but can be difficult to interpret and therefore have been excluded. Grey regions are areas where no data is available. Recognition of the disease often depends on in-depth diagnostic testing of appropriate cases and more.
Data provided by the Small Animal Veterinary Surveillance Network (www.liverpool.ac.uk/savsnet) at the University of Liverpool, under licence by the British Small Animal Veterinary Association. Interpretation of data is MSD Animal Health’s own.
Infectious Diseases
Viruses, bacteria and parasites can be transmitted between animals to cause illness. The diseases can be distressing, transferrable to people or even fatal so are always best prevented. Many infectious diseases cannot be effectively treated, vaccines are one of our most powerful tools to keep ourselves and the animals we care for healthy.
It is recommended that all kittens and adult cats are vaccinated against core diseases such as cat flu and feline panleucopaenia. The feline leukaemia virus vaccine is recommended for cats at risk of infection - typically those that go outside or may mix with cats carrying the virus.
Why Vaccinate?
Vaccination against serious infectious diseases saves lives and quality of life for many pets. Kittens are particularly susceptible to infectious diseases and should be vaccinated to support their health and survival. Vaccines work by stimulating natural immunity against the infectious diseases they protect against. Adult cats are also at risk of being infected with diseases that they can be exposed to in their daily lives either from the places they go or the other animals they meet. Regular vaccination as an adult cat helps ensure immunity is maintained.
The map shows the density of all confirmed cases for cat diseases for the past three years.
This is not necessarily an indication of what areas the disease is more prevalent in, as the data captured by these labs is likely to be a small proportion of the suspected number of cats that might be affected by the disease.
Select your area to see what diseases are being around you
Reducing the Risk of Infectious Disease During Lockdown
Many routine pet vaccinations were temporarily suspended at veterinary practices. However, the best protection for pets is still to keep their vaccinations up to date. If your veterinary practice is now open, remember to contact your vet about going back for any missed vaccination appointments over lockdown as soon as you can.
When you do return to your vet, you are likely to be asked to wait in your car rather than the waiting room so a member of the team can come out to collect your pet. Other social distancing measures may also be in place, if you are uncertain about this make sure you give your practice a call beforehand.
If your practice is not yet open, or you are struggling to book an appointment for the near future, please see our advice on keeping your pets safe: Read more.
You can also learn more about the diseases that vaccines help protect your pet from here (please choose dog or cat diseases using the icons at the top of the page). The maps highlight some recent confirmed cases of infectious diseases in pets from across the UK.
The map shows the relative proportion of PCR-confirmed cases of canine leptospirosis, canine parvovirus and canine distemper by region, submitted to SAVSNET-participating veterinary diagnostic laboratories over the last 3 years. Other tests such as MAT test are more commonly undertaken but can be difficult to interpret and therefore have been excluded. Grey regions are areas where no data is available. Recognition of the disease often depends on in-depth diagnostic testing of appropriate cases and more. The data underlying these charts is supplied by SAVSNET at the University of Liverpool (www.liverpool.ac.uk/savsnet). All charts and interpretations are those of MSD Animal Health.
Infectious Diseases
In animals, just as in humans, certain viruses, bacteria and parasites can be transmitted between individuals to cause illness (disease). Such diseases can prove serious and indeed fatal whilst others can cause distressing illness and/or be transmissible to people and are best prevented. Some risks are more likely dependent on the animal’s lifestyle and/or where in the world the animal lives. Because many of these diseases cannot be effectively treated, vaccines remain one of our most powerful tools to keep ourselves and the animals we care for healthy.
Puppies and adult dogs all over the world are recommended vaccination against parvovirus, distemper and canine hepatitis. Leptospirosis is widespread in some countries - including the UK - so vaccination against the disease is also recommended for all dogs. Dogs travelling to another country require a rabies vaccination, and in some cases vaccinations are available to protect against other exotic diseases like leishmaniosis.
Why Vaccinate?
Vaccination against serious infectious diseases saves lives and quality of life for many pets. Puppies are particularly susceptible to infectious diseases and should be vaccinated to support their health and survival. Vaccines work by stimulating natural immunity against the infectious diseases they protect against. Adult dogs are also at risk of being infected with diseases that they can be exposed to in their daily lives either from the places they go (like ponds or puddles) or the other animals they meet. Regular vaccination as an adult dog helps ensure immunity is maintained.
The map shows the density of confirmed cases for dog diseases for the past three years.
This is not necessarily an indication of what areas the disease is more prevalent in, as the data captured by these labs is likely to be a small proportion of the suspected number of dogs that might be affected by the disease.
Select your area to see what diseases are being reported around you