Vaccination and Titers
A vaccine titer is a blood test that measures the level of antibody immunity in the body to a particular disease. When we are vaccinated as children for measles or chicken pox, our bodies mount immunity that last throughout our lives. That means that if were exposed to those diseases we would not get sick nor do we ever need to be revaccinated.
It has been commonplace for the last 25 years to routinely vaccinate dogs and cats yearly. Few had ever questioned this practice until recently. It is now being shown that our pets can have the same long lasting immunity to common diseases after their initial puppy or kitten vaccinations.
A vaccine titer gives us a level of confidence that the body has imparted immunity that would be protective. If the titer is low, we do not hesitate to revaccinate and retest the following year. However, a low titer does not necessarily mean that your pet cannot fight the disease. If he/she is
not healthy, we can decide when or if it is appropriate to revaccinate. The diseases that we titer most commonly
are canine distemper and parvovirus and feline distemper and calici virus.
Titers: what do they tell us?
Vaccination for Previously Vaccinated Dogs
Titers and Canine Vaccination Decisions
Titers and Feline Vaccination Decisions
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