Lack of proper oversight by the State Board of Veterinary Medicine and the Attorney General’s Office’s failure to enforce the Maine Veterinary Practice Act has enabled veterinarians across the state to routinely recommend and administer unnecessary annual distemper, hepatitis and parvovirus vaccination shots unchallenged.

The American Animal Hospital Association 2003 Canine Vaccination Guidelines and Recommendations advises that distemper, adenovirus-2 (hepatitis) and parvovirus boosters be given “no more than once every three years.” Further, they report dogs were immune when exposed to all three diseases seven years after vaccination, with protective levels of antibodies in the blood a minimum of nine years later and up to 15 years for distemper.

Overvaccination causes pet owners needless expense while exposing their animals to increased risk without benefit. The American Veterinary Medical Association’s Principles of Vaccination states: “Adverse events, including some that are potentially severe, can be unintended consequences of vaccination. … Unnecessary stimulation of the immune system does not result in enhanced disease resistance, and may increase the risk of adverse post-vaccination events.”

I believe the practice of recommending unnecessary annual vaccinations is deceptive, if not fraudulent, and violates the Board of Veterinary Medicine’s Code of Ethics and constitutes unprofessional conduct under the Maine Veterinary Practice Act of 1975. Pet owners whose veterinarians regularly advise unnecessary annual vaccinations should contact the State Board of Veterinary Medicine, the Attorney General’s Office and governor’s office.

Kris L. Christine, Alna