Rabies Challenge Fund
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    An article was published by Reuters on September 7, 2007 that is of interest to dog owners:
 
U.S. Free of Canine Rabies Virus http://www.reuters.com/article/topNews/idUSN0741162020070907 
by Maggie Fox  (Health & Science Editor)  September 7, 2007
 
"The elimination of canine rabies in the United States represents one of the major public health success stories in the last 50 years," CDC Director Dr. Julie Gerberding said in a statement
 
For more information on the canine rabies vaccine http://www.RabiesChallengeFund.org/page4.html and The Rabies Challenge Fund http://www.RabiesChallengeFund.org/about%20the%20RCF.html
 
   Rabies Challenge Fund Reaches First-Year Goal:  http://www.mainelincolncountynews.com/index.cfm?ID=26297
    Pets: Rabies vaccine research may save some pain  http://www.newsday.com/search/ny-lspets5278482jul02,0,6559208.column
   How Often Does He REALLY Need a Rabies Shot? http://animalwellnessmagazine.com/m/m86/main.htm;  
   Get Out Your Wallets, Rabies Challenge Fund a Reality http://www.mainetoday.com/pets/dogslife/007915.html. 
    Are We Overvaccinating our Pets?  http://www.spanieljournal.com/28lbaughan.html 
    Nationwide Campaign Launched to Fund Rabies Vaccine Study http://www.mainelincolncountynews.com/index.cfm?ID=14204; 
    The Rabies Challenge Fund  http://blogs.mainetoday.com/dogslife/002976.html 
    Rabies Challenge Fund & Master Dog Training at the Womens Podcasting Expo - Show #42 http://www.replay-video.com/guide/index.php?start_page=http://applian.com/guide/view_podcast_details.php?show_id=2156 .   
 
Anyone wishing to have a copy of the 1992 French challenge study data from a research team led by Michel Aubert in which dogs were demonstrated to be immune to a rabies challenge 5 years after vaccination, or Vascellari's study which documented cancerous tumors in dogs at presumed injection sites of rabies vaccine, please e-mail me at ledgespring@lincoln.midcoast.com .
 
Regards,  Kris L. Christine
Founder, Co-Trustee
The Rabies Challenge Fund



 

World-Famous Scientists Donate Services to

The Rabies Challenge Fund Charitable Trust

 

Some big news for The Rabies Challenge Fund Charitable Trust:   thanks to graphic designer, Andrea Brin, it now has its own website at http://www.rabieschallengefund.org/ .  If you read the text of the press release below, you'll see the other big news is that Dr. Ronald Schultz of the University of Wisconsin School of Veterinary Medicine has volunteered his time to conduct the 5 and 7 year canine rabies challenge studies.  Dr. Schultz's research forms part of the scientific base for the American Animal Hospital Association's 2003 and 2006 Canine Vaccine Guidelines.  The December 2006/January 2007 (Vol. 8, Issue 6) Animal Wellness Magazine features an article by Ann Brightman on the RCF entitled, How Often Does He REALLY Need a Rabies Shot?
   Since last year, Dr. W. Jean Dodds, of Hemopet and Co-Trustee of The Rabies Challenge Fund Charitable Trust, and her staff have donated their time to ensure these vital studies are conducted for the benefit of our canine companions. 

 Two world-renowned giants of veterinary vaccine research -- Dr. W. Jean Dodds of Hemopet and Co-Trustee of The Rabies Challenge Fund and Dr. Ronald Schultz of the University of Wisconsin School of Veterinary Medicine -- have volunteered their time to ensure that critical 5 and 7 year rabies challenge studies are conducted in the United States.  The studies are to be financed by The Rabies Challenge Fund Charitable Trust, a tax-exemption organization founded by pet vaccine disclosure advocate Kris L. Christine of Maine in 2005, and will be performed by Dr. Schultz at the University of Wisconsin.  The University has waived its usual 48% overhead fee for these studies.

The concurrent challenge studies will determine the duration of immunity conveyed by the canine rabies vaccine, with the goal of extending the state-mandated interval for boosters to 5, and then to 7 years.  According to Dr. Dodds, “This is one of the most important projects in veterinary medicine. It will benefit all dogs by providing evidence that protection from rabies vaccination lasts at least 5 years, thereby avoiding unnecessary revaccination with its attendant risk of debilitating adverse reactions. " 

Scientific data indicate that vaccinating dogs against rabies every three years, as most states require, is unnecessary. Studies have shown the duration of protective immunity as measured by serum antibody titers against rabies virus to persist for seven years post-vaccination, and results of a 1992 French challenge study led by Michel Aubert demonstrated dogs were immune to rabies five years after vaccination.  Researchers believe the rabies vaccine causes the most and worst adverse reactions in animals and concur that it should not be given more often than is necessary to maintain immunity.  Adverse reactions to rabies vaccination can include autoimmune diseases affecting the thyroid, joints, blood, eyes, skin, kidney, liver, bowel and central nervous system; anaphylactic shock; aggression; seizures; epilepsy; and fibrosarcomas at injection sites.

Dr. Schultz states that “[s]howing that a vaccine for rabies can provide 5 or preferably 7 years of immunity would have great significance not only in controlling rabies but more importantly in reducing the adverse vaccine reactions that can occur in dogs and cats after vaccination."

 

RABIES CHALLENGE FUND

   $20,000 MATCHING PLEDGE  

 

 

Two anonymous donors have generously pledged to match all donations of $100 or more to The Rabies Challenge Fund up to $20,000 from May 1st through November 1st.  The Fund is more than halfway towards reaching its immediate goal of $177,000 to cover the two concurrent challenge studies’ first year expenses so the research can begin. 

 

The donors state that, “We are unabashed dog lovers and will do anything in our power to promote their health, longevity and overall well-being. That is the reason we have established a $20,000 matching gift program for the Rabies Challenge Fund. If you believe, as we do and as W. Jean Dodds, DVM, has stated, that “Rabies is the vaccine most associated with adverse reactions because it’s so potent”, then please support this initiative, particularly now so that your $100.00 or more donation will be doubled.”

 

The Rabies Challenge Fund Charitable Trust is a 501 (c) (3) tax-exemption organization founded by pet vaccine disclosure advocate Kris L. Christine of Maine in 2005 to finance 5 and 7 year long-term duration of immunity challenge studies on the canine rabies vaccine.  Two world-renowned giants of veterinary vaccine research -- Dr. W. Jean Dodds of Hemopet and Co-Trustee of The Rabies Challenge Fund and Dr. Ronald Schultz of the University of Wisconsin School of Veterinary Medicine -- have volunteered their time to ensure this important research is conducted in the United States.  The vaccine studies will be performed by Dr. Schultz at the University of Wisconsin according to USDA vaccine licensing requirements.

 

“This matching pledge offers a marvelous opportunity to reach our goal soon and begin the study!” Dr. Dodds stated.

 

The concurrent vaccine studies will determine the duration of immunity conveyed by the canine rabies vaccine, with the goal of extending the state-mandated interval for boosters to 5, and then to 7 years.  Scientific data suggest that vaccinating dogs against rabies every three years, as most states require, is unnecessary. Studies have shown the duration of protective immunity as measured by serum antibody titers against rabies virus to persist up to seven years post-vaccination, and results of a 1992 French challenge study led by Michel Aubert demonstrated dogs were immune to rabies five years after vaccination.  Researchers believe the rabies vaccine can cause adverse reactions in animals and concur that it should not be given more often than is necessary to maintain immunity.  Adverse reactions to rabies vaccination can include autoimmune diseases affecting the thyroid, joints, blood, eyes, skin, kidney, liver, bowel and central nervous system; anaphylactic shock; aggression; seizures; epilepsy; and fibrosarcomas at injection sites.

 

Fund founder and Co-Trustee, Kris Christine, noted that, "This generous $20,000 matching pledge presents pet owners with a wonderful opportunity to double their contributions of $100 or more to help get the studies underway as soon as possible. The USDA does not require manufacturers to conduct long-term duration of immunity studies on canine vaccines, so rabies immunization laws reflect the minimum, not the maximum time for which vaccination confers immunity. Vaccine manufacturers lack the financial incentives to conduct this research, thus it is up to concerned pet owners to fund these studies to determine whether state laws require their dogs to be overvaccinated against rabies as current scientific data indicates."

 

More information on The Rabies Challenge Fund and the concurrent 5 and 7 year challenge studies it will finance can be found at the fund’s website designed by volunteer Andrea Brin at:  www.RabiesChallengeFund.org.  To hear Animal Talk Naturally’s April 25th 2007 interview with Dr. W. Jean Dodds and Kris L. Christine The Vaccine Challenge, click on http://www.animaltalknaturally.com:80/2007/05/01/the-vaccine-challenge-show-91/ .