Rabies Vaccination/ Blood Test Poss Problems?

[Caterhamkid]

Like many of you, we are hoping to travel to France/Spain this coming March/ April time. So, in the event of a no Brexit Deal, which seems highly probable right now, we made the decision to have a blood titre test carried out this week to make sure our dog has sufficient levels of rabies antibody, this blood test cost £125 at our Vets. If the results show sufficient levels of antibody, we now have to wait 3 months before we can travel. However, much to our surprise and concern, our vets told us that many blood test results are coming back from the laboratory as being negative, (they say 50/50), even though the rabies injections had been done within 12 months. The lifespan of the vaccination will depend on the brand of vaccination used, but the majority are supposed to last for around 3 years. Our Springer was vaccinated in February 2018 using Nobivac, before we left for Spain in March 2018. We understood this rabies injection was good for 3 years, but are now being told we have a 50/50 chance that Flossie may need a further rabies injection 10 months later!! I am very unhappy about this to say the very least, for several reasons. Firstly is our dog properly protected against contracting rabies as we were led to believe, and how can we pay for a vaccination that we thought lasted 3 years but in reality could be ineffective 10 months later? We shall await the results of the blood test in a few days time with baited breath. Has anyone else encountered problems with a failed blood test within the 3 year period?

 

[Manic]

We had a blood test on our Jack Russell, she had her rabies injection in August and test was done mid December and she passed ok.
The vet we used charged £116 but we did have quotes of £195 and £159.

 

[Manic]

We had blood test on our Jack Russell and she passed, she had the Rabies injection in August and the test mid December.
We payed £116 for the test but did have quotes of £195 and £153, so it seems vet’s charge what the want.

 

[bellabee]

I can understand your concern @Caterhamkid . Our dog had his booster in Jan 2018 and passed the titre test in November. Like your vet, ours said that quite a few dogs fail the test, and she had to test one dog three times before it passed. I have the impression that it depends from dog to dog as to how much anti-body they build up, because the vet said that if she owned a dog such as the one which failed twice, she wouldn't risk taking it to a country where there was rabies.

Not much consolation, having had to spend £125, but at least you now know that your dog isn't protected and you haven't exposed him to the risk.

It does make you wonder why the vaccination is supposed to be valid for three years, though.

I understand that, on the Continent, they have to have boosters every two years.

 

[Hollyberry]

The rules might change but this used to be rule for entering UK from Europe 11 years ago when I first brought dogs and cat here:
Rabies jab. Blood test one month later. If positive they had to wait 6 months from the date of vaccination ( not blood test) to enter UK.
I'm not sure if this was all obligatory for Europe but it had been done on all animals when they travelled Cyprus to France in any case.
The blood test was not needed again unless the rabies jab lapsed, so you'd have no way of knowing if the rabies vaccine lasted as long as the date in the passport.
I looked on it as a necessary exercise for travel. The likelihood of rabies is very low within Europe. Your dog is much more likely to become ill or die through tick disease.

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[chrisinplymouth]

Our dog was vaccinated in 2017, in preparation for going again this year we had the blood test done in November..... glad to say it came back ok.... cost around £100.

 

[soreeyes]

I was told the same a number of dogs because of no blood test the vets knew that not all dogs met the level of resistance .

Results now are taking a number of weeks so if you get a fail you could be looking at a 6 month process .

 

[PeteH]

We think we have found a cheaper system than expensive vaccination. Grandson moves in and looks after Pooch. Though the volume of FOOD he (grandson) consumes could be an expense issue!.

 

[Theonlysue]

https://www.gov.uk/take-pet-abroad/rabies-vaccination-boosters-and-blood-tests

 

[Dave2000]

We had a successful blood test in December after vaccination in July so all bases covered. I think it is important not to worry about Rabies, the number of confirmed cases in 2016 (last year that data is available) was 0, and not really been any since 2012 in Greece and northern Italy. The EU hope to declare all countries Rabies free in 2020. This is due to the highly successful fox vaccination program, which is still ongoing and being monitored in the eastern area, e.g. Romania, Bulgaria, Hungary. As someone's said there are more diseases out in the wild to worry about than Rabies. Rabies is always the headline grabber because of the devastating impact on humans, by the time there are symptoms its to late for treatment. From the dogs prospective tick disease and Alabama foot rot are much more dangerous, anyone with dogs please be vigilant.

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[gus-lopez]

I understand that, on the Continent, they have to have boosters every two years.

Yearly in Spain & a legal requirement, for cats,dogs & ferrets. Same vaccine as the UK .