Can serological testing of pets inform us about vaccine protection?
Can this serological approach be applied also to the common vaccines against feline and canine infectious diseases? Certainly, there is very good evidence that this is possible in the dog. A particular antibody titre measured by virus neutralisation in the case of canine distemper virus and canine adenovirus, or haemagglutination-inhibition for canine parvovirus, is associated with protective immunity to each virus. Using serological tests, it has been shown that in dogs a very high proportion of the population maintains protective levels of immunity over long periods of time after vaccination. These studies support the suggestion that re-vaccination at intervals of three years would be sufficient to maintain immunity.
