First it was COVID-19. Now, it’s FIDO-23..More than a third of all dog owners believe canine vaccines — including the rabies vaccine — cause autism in in their four-legged friends, according to researchers from the Boston University School of Public Health..And now it’s raising alarm bells for potentially fatal outbreaks in humans..The study found rising levels of so-called CVH — ‘canine vaccine hesitancy’ — in about half of dog owners in the US, where about 45% of households own a dog..About half of those question the safety or necessity of vaccines in animals and 37% specifically think they cause autism in their pets. This, despite the fact dogs can’t have autism; it is a uniquely human condition related to language disorder.."We were shocked to uncover just how prevalent canine vaccine hesitancy is," study lead author Matt Motta, an assistant professor of health law, policy and management at Boston University told Ars Technica. ."To see that so many dog owners misapply concerns about a human diagnosis to their pets was, in my view, pretty surprising.”.Fuelling the fears are lingering concerns over the effectiveness and security of COVID-19 vaccines — indeed all of them — in humans.. Rabies incidence ."The vaccine spillover effects that we document in our research underscore the importance of restoring trust in human vaccine safety and efficacy," he said in a statement..But it’s not just dogs. Cats can also transmit the disease. According to the World Health Organization, a 70% pet vaccination rate is required to prevent rabies outbreaks in humans, which is almost always fatal.."With any drug, treatment, or vaccine, there is always a risk of adverse effects, but the risk with the rabies vaccine is quite low — especially when compared to the risk of rabies infection, which is almost 100% lethal," study co-author, Gabriella Motta added..The study is said to be the first to formally quantify health policy consequences of concerns regarding canine vaccination. The survey was compiled between March 30 and April 10 and sampled 2,200 dog owners through research sampling firm YouGov..The findings point to a COVID vaccine 'spillover' effect in the US, suggesting people who hold negative attitudes toward human vaccines are more likely to hold negative views toward vaccinating their pets. . Rabies in Canada .In Canada, all provincial laws — with the exception of British Columbia — require all dogs, cats and ferrets over three months of age to be vaccinated against rabies even though it is quite rare..Since 1924 there have only been 25 people in six provinces who have died from the disease; 12 of those were in Quebec..BC is the only province to be considered rabies-free because it is only found in fewer than 6% of bats..According to Alberta health officials, bats, skunks and raccoons and foxes — even deer and cattle — are the most common animals to have rabies in Canada. Ironically, coyotes seem to be immune because they can’t actually carry the virus and succumb to it instead..Alberta has had periodic culls of wild canine populations over the years to prevent the spread, but the last was in the 1960s..Core vaccinations for dogs include: distemper; hepatitis; parainfluenza; parvovirus and Lyme.
