Regulations for rabies vaccination under debate Posted On: Thursday, May. 21 2009 05:43 AM By Justin Cox
Killeen Daily Herald

Killeen officials are looking to redefine rules governing rabies vaccinations for animal owners in the city.

Currently, the city has to fall in line with Bell County's yearly vaccination policy; however, some members of the animal advisory board said Wednesday that they would like to see the requirements extended to every three years.

But they can't do that unless the county changes its policy first.

Municipal prosecutor Holli Clements said the state authorizes cities to adopt their own rules governing rabies vaccinations, but those rules can only be more stringent than the county's policies.

And veterinarians disagree as to the necessity of changing the law.

Dr. Laura Szeremi is a member of the animal advisory board and a practicing veterinarian at two hospitals in the Killeen area.

Szeremi said the county is behind the times in requiring annual vaccinations, which in her estimation, are unneeded and potentially harmful.

"It's vaccinating pets when they really don't need it," Szeremi said. "There's always a risk of an allergic reaction, and the more vaccines your pet receives over time, the more at risk they are in having an allergic reaction. So as they get older, and they get multiple three-year vaccines when they didn't really need them, there is more risk to their health."

She said there is the need to protect the population from rabies, but vaccinations should not be taken lightly.

Not all veterinarians agree.

Dr. Warren Dunn of the Belton Veterinary Clinic strongly disagrees with the assertion that annual rabies shots are unnecessary.

"It's absolutely incorrect," Dunn said. "Three years is a long time in a life of a dog. Rabies is much too dangerous a disease to be taking that kind of chance."

Dunn also disagrees with the idea that it's harmful to vaccinate annually simply out of fear of an allergic reaction.

"In puppies, we see just as much reaction as we do in other dogs. You're going to see a reaction every now and then, just like you do in humans; that's just part of doing it," he said. "It's one of those calculated risks ? if there is something going wrong, there's a better chance for us to see the animal and check."

While surrounding counties have a three-year policy in place, Dunn said it's best to keep the annual policy because of the large number of rabies instances found in Bell County. He said the high skunk population greatly contributes to rabies while other parts of the state might not be at as much risk.

Contact Justin Cox at jcox@kdhnews.com or (254) 501-7568.