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  Discussion on RE: Phemphigus foliacious bred mare - vaccination program?
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Member:
Bravo

Posted on Saturday, Nov 18, 2006 - 9:47 pm:

Dr.O, we have a pregnant mare who last year developed an auto immune reaction to the combo vaccination - 5 way with WNV. We administered this vaccine a month prior to foaling. 24 hours after the vaccination she began breaking with lesions in which she lost over half of her body hair. She was diagnosed with pemphigus foliacious. This is very rare in horses and they usually die in two years. We did not want to put her on gold shot injections or cortiosteriods. So I researched alternative treatment and found IP6 with inositol and bovine colostrum - I found a product which combines the two and she did a turn around in two weeks. She is healthy and happy now. She delivered a beautiful filly who also broke with lesions and then they cleared in a couple of months. This year is very difficult for us because we are very concerned with the administration of any vaccinations. She is in foal, doing great. She is due for her first Rhino shot. Do you think she should receive these shots this year or pass? She has been on the traditional program her entire life. It is my understanding sometimes the reactions come from the carrier not the vaccine. How do you know if different companies use the same carry? We are concerned and confused. Our Vets just have no experience with this and are not comfortable offering a recommendation. Thanks! JJ
Moderator:
DrO

Posted on Sunday, Nov 19, 2006 - 10:00 am:

A few comments Jane about the diagnosis. The alternative therapies you used are unlikely to have been useful for true pemphigus (see Diseases of Horses » Skin Diseases, Wounds, and Swellings » Hair and Coat Problems / Itching / Irritated Skin » Autoimmune Skin Disorders: Bullous and Pemphigus, which makes me wonder about the diagnosis.

If we assume that the vaccination was the cause and this is uncertain, this sounds more like a immune mediated vasculitis caused by immune complexes formed in the blood stream that had some sort of affinity for the capillaries or tissues of the skin. On histopath it might look like one of the autoimmune pemphigoid diseases but unlike true pemphigus would be self limiting as the immune complexes broke down. Hmmm, do you have a copy of the biopsy report and could you post it here?

I believe most companies use a combination of adjuvants, some are used commonly and are the same, while others are different. Your veterinarian could contact the companies about the particular vaccines and compare them.

Without further information the best advice I can give is if you believe the vaccines represent a significant disease risk to your mare, one that is greater than the disease you are trying to protect against, you should not give them. You should study up on the diseases, we have articles on all the diseases you can vaccinate for including herpes abortion, to understand how they are transmitted to do your best to prevent them.
DrO
Member:
Bravo

Posted on Saturday, Nov 25, 2006 - 9:38 pm:

I will fax two reports indicating Pemphigus
I tried to upload but received an error message we were too large.
Moderator:
DrO

Posted on Monday, Nov 27, 2006 - 9:06 am:

Jane, instead of faxing me the files you were trying to upload can you cut and paste the text here? In the past we have had trouble trying to deal with such information and getting it on the board.
DrO
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