Michigan Rabies Bill Sb 118 Action Alert

[Kris L. Christine 2]

MICHIGAN Rabies Bill SB 118 ACTION ALERT:
Senator Rick Jones has introduced legislation which would lower to
3 months the age at which puppies in large-scale breeding facilities must have
rabies vaccinations http://www.legislature.mi.gov/documents/2013-2014/billintroduced/Senate/htm/2013-SIB-0118.htm.
The Rabies Challenge Fund is concerned about the health impact this would have
on those puppies if this bill passes with this change in it and that it will
lead to a law change requiring all Michigan puppies to be vaccinated against
rabies at the age of 3 months instead of at 4 months as the dog laws
currently require. The bill has been assigned to the Senate Agriculture
Committee for consideration.

What You Can Do to Help:


Contact the bill sponsors and members of the Senate Agriculture
Committee and request that they delete the language in this bill which lowers
the age at which puppies in large-scale breeding facilities to 3 months.


Bill Sponsors Contact
Information:

Senator Rick Jones SenRJones@senate.michigan.gov
(517) 373-3447 fax: (517) 373-5849
Sen. Steve Bieda SenSBieda@senate.michigan.gov
(517) 373-8360 fax: (517) 373-9230
Sen. Tory Rocca SenTRocca@senate.michigan.gov
(517) 373-7315 fax: (517) 373-3126
Sen. Tonya Schuitmaker SenTSchuitmaker@senate.michigan.gov
(517) 373-0793 fax: (517) 373-5607
Sen. Glenn S. Anderson SenGAnderson@senate.michigan.gov
(517) 373-1707 fax: (517) 373-3935
Sen. John Proos SenJProos@senate.michigan.gov
(517) 373-63960 fax: (517) 373-0897
Sen. Mike Kowall SenJKowall@senate.michigan.gov
(517) 373-1758 fax: (517) 373-0938
Sen. JohnPappageorge SenJPappageorge@senate.michigan.gov
(517) 373-2523 fax: (517) 373-5669
Sen. Jim Marleau jimmarleau@senate.michigan.gov
(248) 724-2442 fax: (517) 373-2694

Senate Agriculture Committee Members Contact
Information:

Senator Joe Hune, Chair SenJHune@senate.michigan.gov
(517) 373-2420 fax: (517) 373-2764
Sen. Darwin L. Booher SenDBooher@senate.michigan.gov
(517) 373-1725 fax: (517) 373-0741
Sen. Judy K. Emmons SenJEmmons@senate.michigan.gov
(517) 373-3760 fax: (517) 373-8661
Sen. Goeff Hansen SenGHansen@senate.michigan.gov
(517) 373-1635 fax: (517) 373-3300
Sen. Virgil Smith senvsmith@senate.michigan.gov
(517) 373-7918 fax: (517) 373-5227
Committee clerk: mhart@senate.michigan.gov


PERMISSION GRANTED TO CROSS-POST


Below is my letter to Senators Jones and Hune on behalf of The Rabies
Challenge Fund:

February 15, 2013

Senator Rick Jones Senator Joe
Hune, Chair Agriculture Committee
State Capitol State Capitol
Fax: (517)
373-5849 Fax: (517) 373-2764
SenRJones@senate.michigan.gov SenJHune@senate.michigan.gov


RE: SB 118 to Amend dog Law 1919
PA 339 MCL 287.261-287.290

Greetings Senators Jones and Hune:


Senate Bill SB 118, which would lower the age at which puppies in
large-scale breeding facilities must be vaccinated against rabies from 4 months
to 3 months, will result in an increase the number of puppies who will fail to
elicit a proper immune response to rabies as well as increase the likelihood of
adverse reactions to the vaccine. This portion of the bill appears to address a
non-existent problem in the canine community, as the data reported in the
government summary maps of all rabies positive cases in Michigan illustrate:
bats and skunks pose the major public health threat, not puppies under the age
of 4 months.

Michigan’s summary maps indicate that over the 34 years
from 1978 through 2012 there were 14 rabid dogs (no mention of puppies under 4
months of age), 16 rabid horses, 27 rabid cats, 128 rabid skunks, and 1,279
rabid bats. These data evidence the fact that this segment of current law
requiring puppies to be vaccinated against rabies by 4 months of age is
effectively controlling rabies in Michigan’s canine community amongst
large-scale and small-scale breeders and does not need to be changed.


Lowering the age at which puppies, whether in litters of large-scale or
small-scale breeders, are required to have their first rabies shot from 4 months
to 3 months would be counterproductive. At the age of 3 months (12 weeks),
puppies are finishing up their initial series of other vaccinations (distemper,
hepatitis, parvovirus). Mandating that these young animals be vaccinated against
rabies at the same time will not only increase the likelihood of adverse
reactions (some of which can be lethal), but also the probability that the
vaccine components will interfere with each other and neutralize or negate the
appropriate immunological response sought.

Augmenting the probability
that rabies vaccination at 3 months may not be effective is the continued
presence of maternal antibodies. According to the 2006 American Animal Hospital
Association's Canine Vaccine Guidelines, the most common reason for vaccination
failure is "the puppy has a sufficient
amount of passively acquired maternal antibody (PAMA) to block the
vaccine......" [1] They elaborate by reporting that at the ages of 14 to
16 weeks of age, "PAMA should be at a level
that will not block active immunization in most puppies (>95%) when a
reliable product is used." After the age of 16 weeks (4 months), the
maternal antibodies are reduced to a level at which they should not reduce the
rabies vaccine's effectiveness.

Vaccinating puppies at too young an age
can be ineffective. Keeping in mind that rabies vaccines are “killed” vaccines,
the 2003 American Animal Hospital Association's (AAHA) Canine Vaccine Guidelines
reports on Page 17 that: "… when puppies are
first vaccinated at 16 weeks (or more) of age (an age when passively acquired
antibodies generally don't cause interference), … two doses of a killed vaccine,
are adequate to stimulate an immune response." [2]

As it
currently stands, the law requiring all puppies to be vaccinated at 4 months of
age is and has been effective at controlling rabies in Michigan’s canine
population. There is no epidemiological or scientific rationale for changing
this portion of 1919 PA 339 MCL 287.261-287.290 and needlessly exposing any
puppies to the potentially harmful, sometimes fatal, adverse side affects of the
rabies vaccine prior to the age of 4 months.

On behalf of The Rabies
Challenge Fund and the concerned Michigan dog owners who have requested
our assistance, I strongly urge you to remove the section of this bill which
would lower the required age of rabies vaccination for puppies in large-scale
breeding facilities to 3 months.

Respectfully submitted,



Kris L. Christine

Founder, Co-Trustee
THE RABIES
CHALLENGE FUND
www.RabiesChallengeFund.org
ledgespring@lincoln.midcoast.com


cc: Dr. W. Jean Dodds
Dr. Ronald Schultz
Michigan Legislature


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------


[1] American Animal Hospital Association Canine Vaccine Task Force. 2006
Canine Vaccine Guidelines, Recommendations, and Supporting Literature, 28pp.


[2] American Animal Hospital Association Canine Vaccine Task Force. 2003
Canine Vaccine Guidelines, Recommendations, and Supporting Literature, 28pp.

[U.L.D.A 289]

think im made of money phoning american numbers

[Mickey Finn 3,017]

think im made of money phoning american numbers

Call collect.