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Old diseases given new spin in marketing campaign
By Gina Spadafori
November 11, 2008
In her “Your Whole Pet” column for the San Francisco Chronicle’s SFGate.com Web site, our Christie Keith takes a close look a brochure in her veterinarian’s office, and finds not a new disease but a marketing pitch:
Many disease agents,” the pamphlet informed me, “can cause Canine Enteritis Complex, a potentially deadly inflammation of the small intestine. Some common enteritis-causing pathogens in dogs are parvovirus, coronavirus, and giardia lamblia, a microscopic protozoan that can severely damage the lining of the small intestine.”
The pamphlet went on: “These pathogens are highly contagious and can be spread between dogs.” What’s more, it continued, “A published study showed a dual infection with parvo and corona was fatal in 90 percent of cases.” They also added that “Pre-existing Giardia infection can make disease from parvovirus more severe.”
After the obligatory advice to ask your veterinarian “about a vaccination program that includes protection against enteritis-causing pathogens such as parvovirus, coronavirus, and Giardia,” there were some footnotes.
I assumed that for this newly discovered trifecta of canine intestinal doom we’d have some pretty cutting-edge science backing up their claims. Well, actually no. Those footnotes cited one 19-year-old study, and another that is 25 years old. In fact, it turns out the diseases are old, the citations are old, even the vaccines being promoted are old. The only thing new is the marketing campaign, which aims to convince you to protect your dog “from Canine Enteritis Complex by vaccinating routinely against parvo, corona, and Giardia.”
The problem is that this marketing campaign is misleading.
Read on for more.
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To the average dog owner, and I can think of many I know personally, this is going to be effective marketing. The owner will gasp, “There’s something I need to be vaccinating Rover for that I might not already be on top of cos I haven’t heard this weird new disease name before? I’d better ask about this right away and get whatever vaccines are needed!” Post vaccines (and check made out to the Vet), the owner will breathe a sigh of relief “because Rover is just too precious to take ANY risks with”.
Comment by slt — November 11, 2008 @ 7:29 am
EXCELLENT article, Christie! This is so obviously a push-back by the vets/manufacturers against the growing awareness of over-vaccination and especially corona/giardia. I wish every pet owner would read it, and then refuse their vet’s efforts to intimidate them into unnecessary vax.
Comment by EmilyS — November 11, 2008 @ 8:53 am
What’s the name of the manufacturer spinning this annoying drivel?
I don’t carry either the corona or giardia vaccine. Why? Because the first disease isn’t really a problem except in young pups and the second’s vaccine doesn’t really work like people think it does.
Nonetheless, vets all over my town require corona every six months and advertise the giardia vaccine heavily.
“Beware standing water”,” the ads say. We live in Florida. So what do you want me to do, vaccinate every six months because we paved over a swamp fifty years ago? Puh-lease.
Comment by Dr Patty Khuly — November 11, 2008 @ 9:41 am
Fear-mongering is now an official discipline, practically applicable to every infinitesimal possibility in life.
I’ll play. Is it our friends at Fort Dodge?
Comment by Caveat — November 11, 2008 @ 10:58 am
Excellent article Christie! I passed your article around to a few veterinarians at our headquarters today and they thought you were spot on. Keep up the good work.
Comment by Jason Merrihew — November 11, 2008 @ 1:05 pm
“I’ll play. Is it our friends at Fort Dodge?
Comment by Caveat —”
I won’t take your bet as I suspect you are correct.
Comment by Anne T — November 11, 2008 @ 1:12 pm
ps: just googled Canine Enteritis Complex, and brought up an interesting piece on a Blog called “Dogged” ( who could that be? lol) written last year. In that piece the purveyor of the pamphlet is named…Ft Dodge. Are we surprised?
Comment by Anne T — November 11, 2008 @ 1:20 pm
ROFL… you are all just TOO good. ;)
Comment by Christie Keith — November 11, 2008 @ 4:23 pm
This is so timely! I just had one of my dogs in for a titer today, and have been thinking about vaccines and titers.
Comment by ks — November 11, 2008 @ 4:31 pm