A.M. Arzhaev, Med. PhD, S.V. Ozherelkov, doctor of biological sciences,

A.V. Sanin, doctor of biological sciences, professor

At present dogs and cats masters know very well:

to avoid a life-threatening virus infection (plague, enteritis, hepatitis, etc.) their pets should be timely and properly vaccinated. However, even timely and proper vaccination sometimes does not protect the dog or cat from the disease. This can be caused by a number of reasons. It is considered that effective vaccination of puppies requires vaccines with few antigens (2-4), as the use of polyvalent vaccines with 6 or more antigens cannot induce a relevant immune response and the animal will not be protected from the infection. The otherrelevant reason is that among domestic animals there are species (and unfortunately their number increases) which are not able to produce antigens in response to the vaccine. This may be due to the adverse effects of environmental and/or epidemiological factors, stresses and genetic degeneration of the breed. The observed immunodeficiencies – inability to adequately response to the vaccine for any reason – necessitate the search for and introduction of drugs that facilitate the normalization of the immune response – immune correctors. Properties of such immune corrector, in particular, are characteristic to Phosprenyl, a well-known therapeutic and preventive antiviral drug. Experimental studies have shown that Phosprenyl can restore the immune response (reduced as a result of stress) in mice. Moreover, it was found that Phosprenyl administrated to animals in combination with some monovalent vaccines significantly enhances their protective properties. The use of Phosprenyl together with a vaccine in Caucasian Shepherd Dogs showed that immune response of the animals vaccinated with the drug was three times higher than when the dogs were vaccinated without the drug.

Phosprenyl is recommended by the Department of Veterinary Medicine of the Russian Ministry of Agriculture to create a proper immune response at vaccination of puppies against viral diseases.

We would like to draw the attention of pet owners and veterinary specialists to new properties of Phosprenyl. It is well known that vaccination of puppies with inactivated (killed) vaccines should be multiple and any vaccination is a serious stress for the organism. Experimental studies of co-administration of inactivated vaccines with Phosprenyl to laboratory animals showed that such animals have a much better response than animals vaccinated without the drug. Animals vaccinated with Phosprenyl do not fall ill even when infected with high doses of the virus, while animals vaccinated without Phosprenyl “cannot stand” such doses of the virus and fall ill. Possibly, the use of Phosprenyl together with vaccines will help to avoid repeated vaccinations and save the animals from additional stresses.

All these data allow us to recommend Phosprenyl to increase efficiency of vaccinations. However, the dosage schedule of Phosprenyl depends on the type of vaccine to be used. As for inactivated (killed) vaccines, one injection of Phosprenyl together with the vaccine will be enough. If you choose a comprehensive vaccine containing a live component, Phosprenyl should be administrated according to the following dosage schedule. Give the animal two injections of the drug (in the morning and in the evening) 48 hours before the vaccination and one injection of the drug 24 hours before the vaccination.

However, you should remember: any use of Phosprenyl must be agreed upon with a specialist!