A WONDERFUL VACCINE.

Hauraki Plains Gazette, Volume XXXX, Issue 5377, 21 January 1929, Page 4

A WONDERFUL VACCINE.

DISTEMPER CAN BE PREVENTED.

A complete preyentlveof distemper in dogs is announced in ithq “Field” (Thursday, November 29), The announcement is made as the result of the five years’ r.esearcliep conducted by Dr. Laidlaw and Mr F. W. Dunkin at the Mill Hill laboratories of the Medical Research Counc.il on behalf of the Fiejd Distemper Fund and its subscribers. It is contained in the report submitted bn their behalf to the Field Distemper Council at a: meeting over which the Duke; of Portland presided, and to the Medical Research Counc.il, of which Earl Balfour, is president. The report in full is published in the “Field,” with an introduction by Sir Charles Martin, F.R.S. From the report it appears that many difficultly were encountered in finding the true nature of. the virus or poison which produces distemper, in dogs, but it was at last identified! beyond doubt. When this was done the task of employing it so as to reader dogs immune from attacks of distemper presented further difficulties. But these were surmounted, and now it is “beyond per adventure” that dogs can be completely immunised,

The most convincing demonstration of this is afforded by the fact that no fewer than 1300 dogs and hotihds have been inoculated successfully. Tbej Puckeridge, the Tiverton, andi the Warwickshire packs afford striking example of the success of the treatment.

Among dogs of other breeds are Labradors, wire-haired terriers, Cairn ter.riers, golden retrievers, spaniels, pointers, bull-terriers, bulldogs, whippets, toy spaniels, Dandie Dinmonts, Skye terriers, shetland qollies, Alsatians, mastiffs, Kerry blues, and Aberdeens.

All these dbgs after treatment at the Field Distemper Research Station proved to be completely resistant to the disease afterwards, whether they were exposed to infection by close contact with other, dogs suffering from acute distemper, or whether an attempt was made to inoculate them with the actual poison of distemper, which the investigators discovered. The method of preventing distemper In any given dog consists of a double inoculation. Distemper, occurs in dogs, not as was once, supposed by a visible germ or microorganism, but by an invisible one which is recognisable only by the virus or poison which is the sign of the organism’s presence. The virus is the concomitant of tjhe organism causing distemper in dbgs, and is present in all cases of distemper. The first inoculation of the dog which is selected for treatment is made with a vaccine which is in fact the virus of distemper made inactive by laboratory treatment. The second inoculation is made after an interval of about 10 days with a weak or attenuated strain of the living virus. This dose of living virus is a (hundredfold times as much as that which would suffice tp infec.t any dog with distemper which had not been previously vaccinated with the first vaccine, or had not suffered from distemper already. But with a dog so vaccinated, the dose of living poison produc.es Only slight symptoms, sometimes none at all, because it was rendered partially immune by the first vaccination, The second vaccination makes it completely and permanently immune. The preparations of the vaccine and pf the virus requisite for the inoculations are not yet available for distribution among the general public, or even a.mong the veterinary practitioners, who are the proper people to employ them. But arrangements will be made for their production by responsible biological chemists on a scale such as will make thejn generally available.