You should seek the advice of your veterinarian if your pet is ill as only he or she can correctly advise on the diagnosis and recommend the treatment that is most appropriate for your pet.

About 90% of puppies and kittens are vaccinated by their owners when they first get them but evidence from the UK suggests that less than 40% of owners keep their pets protected by revaccinating

In the UK 149 veterinary practices submit computer data to an analytical programme which monitors their performance. This scheme is called the Fort Dodge Index. According to the latest results * only about 40% of owners attending veterinary practices have their pets revaccinated, and even the best performing practices only have 50% of their clients keeping their pet's vaccination status up to date. These statistics are for "active clients" registered with the practices and owners who did not attend their veterinarian every year were excluded. This means that the number of pet owners in the general population who are not protecting their pets is even higher !

This is a serious situation because if the pet population has such low protection against some of the most serious, potentially fatal diseases such as canine parvovirus, canine distemper or feline panleukopenia virus, an outbreak or even an epidemic could occur at any time in this "at risk" population.

The requirement to have pets revaccinated every 12 months has recently been questioned in the media, and it is true that for some diseases (eg canine distemper) vaccination provides immunity for more than 12 months - but for others regular re-vaccination is crucial. The timing of revaccination depends upon the type of vaccine that a  pet has been given. So ask your veterinary practice for the latest advice on revaccination of your pet - before it is too late.

(*In Practice Vol 22, No 2, pg 99-104 February 2000) 

Updated October 2013