VacciCheck

1. What is a titer test?


A titer test is a laboratory test that measures the amount of antibodies in blood as a response to disease or from vaccination. Therefore if a dog after core vaccination has a high enough level of antibodies after vaccination, it does not need to be automatically revaccinated each year.

2. How is the test performed?


A blood test is taken from a dog, identical to that of a lab based titer test. The VacciCheck then tests for the amount of antibodies present in a dog's blood. The three antibodies that are tested for are for the core vaccine Hepatitis, Parvo and Distemper virus.Based on the results of this test, the veterinarian then knows whether or not to revaccinate a dog. This means that if the antibodies are over a specific "cut off", there is no need to revaccinate.

3. What viruses can you test with VacciCheck? If not rabies, why?


The three antibodies that are tested for are for the core vaccine Hepatitis, Parvo and Distemper virus. Biogal did not develop a rabies test as in many countries the actual testing is developed and carried out in Government regulated labs and not via the private lab sector.

4. How does VacciCheck differ from other titer test kits available?


Firstly both VacciCheck and other lab based tests will give a quantitative antibody result, meaning that they give the relative amount of antibody present in a dog. The major advantage of VacciCheck is that the veterinarian can perform the test in his clinic, receive an answer in 20 minutes and does not have to send the result away to a lab. In addition VacciCheck is by far less expensive for the veterinarian, when compared to if a veterinarian sends the test sample to a lab.

5. While it makes sense to check for circulating antibodies after giving a puppy a vaccination or to test a dog of unknown vaccination history, virtually all dogs who are properly vaccinated as puppies retain immunity to parvo, distemper & canine hepatitis lifelong. Do you see VacciCheck as a solution to veterinarians and owners who need assurance that an animal does have immunity and therefore avoid over vaccination?


Professor Ronald Schultz wrote the following response to a similar question:
” Neither a titer nor annual vaccination is necessary every year because of the core vaccines’ duration of immunity. However, a blood sample taken yearly from an animal for a titer check is preferential to an unnecessary vaccination as a vaccine may cause harm. Medically, however, I don’t know of any harm that might come from taking a blood sample and doing a titer check. Also, there are many practitioners and owners who need assurance that an animal does have immunity. An antibody test such as theVacciCheck can give them that assurance.”

6. How do you respond to practitioners who reject the use of a titer test & deem them unreliable?


I have noticed quite a bit of confusion between titer testing for the core canine vaccination and a non core canine vaccination such as for Leptospirosis, for which vaccine antibody response is only up to one year. I refer such practitioners to the WSAVA Vaccination Guidelines which states the following: “For core vaccines there is excellent correlation between the presence of antibody and protective immunity and there is long DOI for these products. This correlation does not exist for many of the noncore vaccines and the DOI related to these products necessitates more frequent revaccination intervals.”

7. If you titer, are you provided with paperwork?


VacciCheck works on a "solid phase" principle with pre prepared reagents. This simply allows for the VacciCheck to be the only titer test available for the core canine vaccine that can be used in a veterinarian’s clinic, with the test result preserved. Instruction manuals are provided for each kit.

8. If you choose to titer, how often should it be performed?


See above, Professor Schultz’s answer.


9. What is the cost of VacciCheck?


The cost to the vet is $20 per test


10. Any other comments or information you would like to share with pet owners about VacciCheck from Biogal?

Approximately 800 veterinarian clinicians visited the Biogal booth at both the NAVC and WVC Veterinarian Congresses in 2011. The majority of the visitors to the Biogal booth said that they carried out a minimal varying amount of titer checking, often encouraged by a pet owner’s request. Once the veterinarians were explained the benefits of the VacciCheck by representatives of Biogal, they stated they would titer test more often. They observed that till now the major barrier to increased titer testing was based on price. These veterinarians were most impressed by the fact that the VacciCheck test was significantly less expensive than sending a test to a lab. Quite often pet owners would want to carry out a titer test, but opted for automatic revaccination because it was cheaper. Therefore there is now the opportunity that pet owners can receive a titer test at a significantly reduced price. All were very happy there is now an in house option that enables them to check titers and have an answer quicker.


Questions answered by Lenny Small, Marketing Manager of Biogal Galed Labs.