World Animal Vaccination Day serves as a reminder to all pet owners to ensure their animals have received the appropriate vaccinations, and necessary boosters, from their veterinarian.
Australians highly value their pets with 62% of households owning one[1]. Pets provide companionship, relaxation, encourage physical activity and teach children responsibility.
Executive Director of Animal Medicines Australia (AMA) Ben Stapley said that ensuring your dog or cat has the appropriate immunisation from preventable diseases is one of the best ways to protect your pet’s health.
“Protecting your pet from diseases like parvovirus, canine cough, hepatitis and distemper in dogs and feline leukemia virus, feline enteritis, chlamydophila, feline immunodeficiency and reline respiratory disease in cats can be done through vaccinations,” Mr Stapley said.
“The World Health Organisation has recognised vaccination hesitancy as a top ten threats to global health in 2019, however if you care about your pet’s health the best thing to do is consult your veterinarian.
“While it might be tempting to use the internet to access information about animal health, when it comes to ensuring that your pet is appropriately immunised from deadly and contagious diseases a registered vet has had the best training, access to scientific evidence and the latest research.”
Failing to ensure companion animals are appropriately immunised also puts human health at greater risk through the contraction of zoonotic diseases.
“Our pets are often considered a part of the family, we live in very close contact with them. Health risks from diseases which can be passed from animals to humans need to be minimised appropriately, including through immunisation,” Mr Stapley said.
“In Australia, vaccinations given to pets are heavily regulated through strict scientific and efficacy assessments by the Australian Pesticides and Veterinary Medicines Authority.
“Ensuring your pet is vaccinated and consulting your veterinarian is a sensible and important action you can take as a pet owner to protect both animal and human health.”