The Anti-Vaccination Movement Is Now Affecting Dog Health, Too

Vaccine skepticism isn’t just about the vaccine against covid-19.A study recently published in the journal vaccination, shows that dog owners in the US also don’t want to vaccinate their pets, because one of the most common thoughts is wrong belief may develop autism (Also read: Did you already know? From Colombia you can see the next solar eclipse).

Forty-five percent of U.S. households keep dogs as pets, and most states require them to be vaccinated against rabies, an infectious disease that can affect humans and animals.

The study was conducted via research sampling company YouGov between March 30 and April 10, 2023. 2,200 U.S. dog owners participated, some results show 40% believe canine vaccines are unsafe, 37% believe they may cause autism, 30% believe they are medically unnecessary and more than 20% believe they are ineffective (Don’t miss: Four ISS astronauts return to Earth.)

However, no scientific evidence Vaccines can cause autism in dogs or humans. It should be remembered that autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a developmental disorder that can cause social, communication and behavioral challenges and can only be diagnosed by an interdisciplinary team using internationally recognized tests.

One of the study’s most notable conclusions was that when it turned out that rabies, a preventable infection, more than half of American dog owners expressed some sort of fear or misgiving about vaccination. are highly dangerous.

If a pet becomes infected with the virus, the consequences can be aggressive behavior, progressive paralysis, seizures, and eventually death. Not to mention that humans who are bitten by rabid dogs are also at risk: Per year, 59,000 people died as a result.

Veterinary healthcare workers are most at risk because of their constant contact with animals and are prone to bites.

That’s why researchers warn that if concerns about pet vaccinations persist or escalate, the consequences could have serious implications for human and animal public health.

One of the first steps in preventing the situation from getting worse is to Restoring confidence in human vaccines. “If non-vaccination becomes more common, our pets, veterinarians, and even our friends and family will be at risk of exposure to vaccine-preventable diseases,” Motta continued in a statement.

entities such as pan american health organization They say vaccines are extremely important because they stimulate the immune system and protect people from infections or preventable diseases such as cervical cancer, polio, measles, rubella, mumps, diphtheria, tetanus, cough pertussis, influenza A and hepatitis B, bacterial pneumonia, rotavirus diarrheal disease, and bacterial meningitis.

While the authors of the pet-ownership study highlight the limitations of their study, such as the method used to measure vaccine hesitancy as just one of many possibilities, they hope to find more about the impact of pet ownership in the future. Anti-vaccine movements around the world.