The Rabies Challenge Fund

Greetings All!

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. If you recall, 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? and Get Out Your Wallets, Rabies Challenge Fund a Reality by Nancy Freedman Smith at A Dog's Life and http://www.mainetoday.com/pets/dogslife/.

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.

We hope you'll join us in this effort, too! PERMISSION GRANTED TO POST AND CROSS-POST THIS MESSAGE.

Regards, Kris L. Christine

Founder, Co-Trustee

The Rabies Challenge Fund

http://www.rabieschallengefund.org/

World-Famous Scientists Donate Services to

The Rabies Challenge Fund Charitable Trust

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."

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 newly established website designed by volunteer Andrea Brin at: www.rabieschallengefund.org.

To date, the following breed clubs, along with many pet owners, trainers, breeders, and kennel owners have contributed to The Rabies Challenge Fund:

Akita Club of America

American Shih Tzu Club

Bernese Mountain Dog Club of Nashoba Valley

Bernese Mountain Club of SE Wisconsin

Capital City Cocker Club

Chesapeake, Virginia Dog Fanciers Association

Collie Club of Georgia

Dog Agility Racing Team of Chino

Great River Stockdog Club

Heart of Minnesota Great Dane Club

Kennel Club of Buffalo

Kerry Blue Terrier Foundation

Kishwaukee Kennel Club

Kuvasz Fanciers of America

Lehigh Valley Kennel Club

Miniature Schnauzer Club of Southern California

Northern Illinois Schutzhund Club

Nova Scotia Duck Tolling Retriever Club of Canada

Pacific NW Jack Russell Terrier Rescue Network

Soft-Coated Wheaton Terrier Club

Staffordshire Terrier Club of America

Standard Schnauzer Club of Southern California

Wachusett Kennel Club

Evergreen Empire Manchester Terrier Fanciers