New developments in vaccines and current literature on equine immunizations were the focus of discussion at the vaccination Table Topic during the 2010 American Association of Equine Practitioners Convention, held Dec. 4-8 in Baltimore, Md. The attending practitioners actively participated in the discussion with questions and comments on immunizations for various diseases. All agreed that vaccination is a critical component of an equine health maintenance program. Veterinarians play a crucial role in client education, risk assessment, and herd evaluation to determine which vaccination program is best suited for an individual horse or herd.

Industry veterinarians provided insight into product changes that occurred in 2010. The West Nile virus DNA vaccine and Prevenile, for instance, currently are not available. But the vaccine companies are offering a guarantee against disease for many of their available products if the vaccination has been administered and properly handled/stored by a licensed veterinarian. Additional information is available on the vaccination guarantees from each manufacturer.

The discussion covered many research highlights and papers of interest from 2009 and 2010. As far as the facilitator's were aware, the first incidence of a myofibroblastic fibrosarcoma (a tumor that develops at a vaccination site) was reported in the Australian Veterinary Journal by Kannegieter et al in 2010. The current literature served as an excellent starting point for discussion of a variety of topics among the attendees.

This session was moderated by Julie Wilson, DVM, Dipl. ACVIM, of the University of Minnesota College of Veterinary Medicine, and Amanda M. House, DVM, Dipl. ACVIM, of The University of Florida