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The Fallacy of Titer Tests

When a Little Knowledge can be Dangerous

By Janet Tobiassen Crosby, DVM, About.com

How is titer testing a mistake? It only measures one fraction of the entire immune response, the antibodies produced against a particular organism. While their presence indicates protection, there is no reason for the immune system to keep producing antibodies against an invader forever, so, over time, these levels of antibody will wane. The fight is finished, there's no more invader showing up, so there's no need to keep a titer high. What is not measured by the titer test is any part of the cell-mediated immunity, especially the memory cells. So, while antibody levels will wane over time, these long-lived memory cells lie quietly in the recesses of the immune system, awaiting further signals that the invader is back. It is these cells that are responsible for the duration of immunity that cannot be measured by a titer test.

So, if you want to measure titers, do so intelligently. If you have vaccinated a puppy who may have been too young to respond to the vaccine, a titer test could tell you if a response is present. A previously vaccinated adult dog who has a gradually falling titer over the years very likely still has immunity from the memory cells, so don't forget that a titer test won't show this immunity. If you equate a low titer in a vaccinated adult with a lack of immunity, you could make a very costly mistake in your animal's health care, by vaccinating again. See Vaccinations: Safety for the correlation between chronic disease and repeated vaccinations.

And if protection against invaders is your ultimate goal, rather than vaccinating repeatedly, you would do far better to strengthen the immune system. Transfer Factor does this safely, simply, and surely, in all species of animals, including Homo sapiens. www.Alt4Animals.com has more information on dosing and use for your animals.

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