To undestand how this test works, we must first look at how a vaccine works. When a vaccine is administered to an animal, an inactive or attenuated form of a pathogen is injected. This pathogen then stimulates the immune system to recognize it and form antibodies to fight it. These antibodies hang around in the blood stream for extended lengths of time so that when the animal comes into contact with the actual pathogen in the environment, those antibodies are readily available to help fight it off. The amount of antiboides made and the length of time the antiboides hang around is different for each animal, which is where the VacciCheck comes into play; VacciCheck will tell us whether or not we need to vaccinate the patient. When performing the VacciCheck test, we take a blood sample and run it through a series of washes to come up with an actual level of antiboides. If these antibodies are in a high enough amount, the animal will not need to be vaccinated. If the antiboides are low, a vaccine will need to be administered.
The cost of this test is $42 and can be performed in the clinic while you wait. Average time for the test to run is 30 minutes. It must be stated this titer test will not test for Rabies or Bordetella Bronchiseptica titers. It is still the recommendation of Leesburg Animal Hospital to vaccinate yearly for both of these infectious diseases along with a yearly heartworm test and an intestinal parasite check.
Please call to speak with either myself or Dr. Shannon about this test or to make an appointment.