Parvo Immunity – FAQ

Question: If the breeding bitch is vaccinated against Parvo, is there any chance that the future litter is protected Against Parvo to some extent?

Answer By Honourable Col (Retd) K. M. Roy (President KCP): Question is not whether bitch is vaccinated or not but important thing is whether she has achieved immunity and has enough antibodies to pass on MDI (Maternally Derived Antibodies) to her pups. You may vaccinate a dog but it may not develop immunity due to varied reasons. If bitch has good antibodies then it creates another problem. If mother has immunity, the puppies are passively protected; but those antibodies also block the affect of vaccination. If a puppy receives a vaccination before the maternal antibodies are gone, the vaccine’s affect is blocked, and no immunity develops. Maternal antibodies only last a few weeks in the puppy. This duration is directly proportional to the level of immunity the mother has. Puppies can have passive immunity from 6 weeks to 18 weeks. It varies from litter to litter and from pup to pup in the same litter. Initial puppy vaccination should be given at 6 weeks then repeated every 3-4 weeks and last be given at 16 weeks age. With this protocol you have 95% chances of protection against Parvo. A study carried out in US showed that the age at which they were able to respond to a vaccine and develop protection covered a wide period of time. At six weeks of age, 25% of the puppies could be immunized. At 9 weeks, 40% of the puppies were able to respond to the vaccine and were protected. The number increased to 60% by 16 weeks, and by 18 weeks, 95% of the puppies could be immunized.