Rabies Vaccine Mandatory in Minnesota

minnesota.publicradio.org/.../2011/01/minnesota-plans-statewide-rabies-rule.shtml - 2011-01-12

Apparently there is a plan in the works to mandate rabies vaccinations for all dogs in Minnesota. While I agree that most dogs and cats should get a rabies vaccine, my concern is that this rule will be fueled by fear rather than by science. The purpose of vaccinating our pets against rabies has always been that of public protection. Our pets go outside, potentially tangle with disease-carrying wildlife, and then can bring the disease back home to us, the unsuspecting and unvaccinated owners.
There have been some reports of people surviving bites of rabid animals, and some cases of rabies in humans that have no known bite history, but it's a scary disease that we would rather not get, if we could avoid it. I worry that the emphasis will be on repeating the vaccination for pets who are already immunized. Several years of checking rabies titers, which measure the amount of antibodies an animal has to the rabies virus, has proven to me that the vast majority of animals maintain their immunity to rabies long after vaccination, making repeated vaccination hazardous and unnecessary.
One of the reasons the rabies vaccine works so well, providing immunity in nearly 100% of animals vaccinated, is because it is designed to "pack a punch". It is almost guaranteed to stimulate the immune system to produce antiviral antibodies. It also stimulates body-wide inflammation, and production of antibodies against many other organs and glands. The rabies vaccine commonly causes whole-body soreness, and can make your pet quite ill while the immune system is under siege. I have had cases where animals died aftter receiving the rabies vaccine.
Many pet owners may not be aware that vaccines come with warning inserts, like all drugs. These caution us not to vaccinate animals who are stressed, in poor nutritional health, or ill with any other disease. And yet how many of us veterinarians have vaccinated animals who were stressed (perhaps at a humane society, or on their way to a new, unfamiliar home), in poor nutritional health (as any animal is who is eating a strict processed food diet), and ill (like when you bring your dog in for an ear infection or to refill its thyroid medication and by the way it's due for its shots).
Is the risk of disease in our pets due to the vaccine (which many health practitioners simply do not believe is possible) worth potentially exposing the human population to a disease like rabies? Perhaps. But we can be smarter than we have been about this issue. It has been pretty well proven that repetition of vaccines is, for the most part, unnecessary. We, as the pet owners, must bear the cost of treating the conditions and illnesses that may result from the vaccinations (which we also have to pay for). What is the benefit of repeating the insult to our pets' immune systems?
I think that vaccine-related illness is a real problem that we in the veterinary community will have to admit exists at some point, and that as veterinarians we need to bear some of the responsibility for creating disease and making our clients pay the price, both financially and emotionally. It is not sufficient to say "the vaccine is required by law", because by law we veterinarians are supposed to be using our medical judgement, not cheating our clients, and not injuring our patients. I reserve the right to think before I act.

See http://www.rabieschallengefund.org/