Table 5.

A pragmatic vaccination programme for LATAM practitioners in 2019

Type of vaccine	Aim	Puppy or kitten vaccination	Adult animal revaccination
Core vaccines for dogs and cats	Select a quality‐assured MLV product that allows the minimum combination of core antigens to be given (CDV, CAV, CPV2 for dogs; FPV, FHV1, FCV for cats) Use an alternative diluent rather than reconstitute with a non‐core vaccine if that non‐core vaccine is not essential for that animal	Start at 6 to 8 weeks of age then every 2 to 4 weeks until 16 weeks of age or older [EB1] Core vaccination may be started earlier, but never earlier than 4 weeks of age with MLV products. For puppies a product containing high‐titre CDV and CPV2 may be used at 4 to 6 weeks (if available) before switching to trivalent core vaccine at 8 weeks or older [EB1] A fourth vaccine should be given between 6 to 12 months of age OR 12 months after the third vaccine OR at 12 months of age [EB4]	Discuss with clients the new global approach to core revaccination and obtain consent for administration of core quality‐assured MLV vaccine no more often than every 3 years [EB1] The single exception to this may be cats at very high risk of contracting upper respiratory virus. These cats might be vaccinated annually, but be aware that the FPV component of the vaccine combination is not actually required [EB1]
Quality‐assured canine rabies vaccine for client‐owned pet dogs or cats (note this does not refer to mass vaccination campaigns)	Select a quality‐assured international product if available	According to manufacturer's recommendations; one dose from 12 weeks of age [EB1] The VGG recommends that in high risk areas (i.e. NOT most parts of LATAM) a second dose may be given 2 to 4 weeks later A second vaccine in non‐high‐risk areas should be given 12 months later or at 12 months of age	Conform to local legal requirements for annual revaccination, but continue to actively lobby associations and governments to allow triennial revaccination using quality‐assured products with a licensed 3‐year DOI. Continue to lobby industry to register these products with a 3‐year DOI in your country
Non‐core vaccines Examples for dogs: Leptospira, canine infectious respiratory disease complex (kennel cough) and Leishmania Examples for cats: feline leukaemia virus or C. felis (feline immunodeficiency virus and Bordetella vaccines [for cats] are not available in LATAM)	Discuss the individual animal's lifestyle and exposure risk with the client – is the vaccine really necessary for this animal? Chose a quality‐assured product which contains just the desired antigen or the antigen in the least possible combination with other non‐essential components	Give according to manufacturer's recommendations: generally two doses 2 to 4 weeks apart. Injectable non‐core vaccines and oral CIRDC vaccines are generally given from 8 weeks of age. Intranasal CIRDC vaccines may be given earlier (follow manufacturer's recommendations) [EB1]	Non‐core vaccines are generally given annually unless the datasheet specifically recommends otherwise; FeLV vaccines need not be administered to adult cats on an annual basis (see Table 4)
Not recommended vaccines These include vaccines against coronavirus (canine or feline), Giardia and Microsporum canis	Consider whether there is sufficient scientific evidence to support their use

The generic information in this table should be read in conjunction with the more detailed recommendations provided in the current WSAVA vaccination guidelines (Day et al. 2016). Note that these recommendations apply only to quality‐assured vaccines, most of which are produced by large, international companies.