Serum What is serum The legendary serum injected for “week dogs” refers to immune serum, also known as antiserum, is a serum preparation containing a variety of antibody components (also known as polyclonal antibody, PAb). These immune sera (or cellular immune preparations, etc.) containing specific antibodies are injected into the animal’s body, enabling the body to acquire specific immunity immediately and exert anti-infective effects in a timely manner. This serum is mainly used to treat diseases caused by pathogenic microorganisms such as bacteria, viruses and their products. What is the use of serum in some infectious disease outbreaks, young animals in the body of maternal antibodies (natural passive immunity) is not enough to resist foreign pathogenic microorganisms, in order to ensure their healthy survival, veterinarians usually inject them with immune serum for emergency prevention (i.e. artificial passive immunity). In the treatment of virulent infectious diseases, such as Canine Distemper, immune serum is also used as an adjunctive treatment against other pathogens. Of course, without a complete understanding of the physical condition of the young dog or cat, veterinarians may recommend that the immune serum be administered to temporarily relieve the pet of the unknown pathogen, followed by immunization (vaccination) for a specific period of time according to the immunization protocol. Therefore, it is technically possible to inject immune serum into dogs and cats to mask symptoms of disease onset. The act of injecting serum into young dogs and cats is not actually a fault, but it is the quality of the serum that is critical. The quality of immune sera for injection is usually measured by two factors: the antibody content and the source of the serum. There are two sources of serum, homologous and heterologous. Homologous serum has a good antibody effect with a half-life of up to 3 weeks, while heterologous serum has an antibody half-life of only 4-6 days, and the use of heterologous serum has the potential to produce serum sickness. Since the legal system in China’s pet market is not yet sound and there are certain loopholes in management, it is difficult to guarantee that all serums sold in the market are homologous. In addition, there is a lack of uniformity in the standard of antibody content and uneven quality, making some cheap immune sera have limited antibody content and specificity, and it is difficult to completely eliminate all pathogenic microorganisms and their toxins released in the blood, making the treatment less effective. Injection of such serum can only relieve clinical symptoms to some extent. After a few short days, when these antibody components are depleted in the struggle, nothing can compete with the pathogenic microorganisms and their toxins, and the dog or cat will exhibit significant clinical signs. Advice to owners Technically, the use of some drugs commonly used in veterinary practice can indeed improve the condition of dogs and cats for a short period of time for the purpose of concealing the disease. Because most of these veterinary drugs can only temporarily relieve the clinical symptoms of the small animals, coupled with hidden problems in the quality of the drugs and the dosage used, the young pets often show their condition only after they are bought back and gradually get worse. If the owner does not find out in time, the young pet’s condition will deteriorate because it cannot receive timely and effective treatment. Although it seems that it is difficult to eliminate week dogs and cats by regulating pet medication and monitoring the access to drugs, we can avoid being deceived if we pay a little attention to ourselves. 1. the most fundamental principle is to go to the regular pet market, do not be greedy for cheap and do not give those roadside vendors the opportunity to take advantage of; 2. carefully observe the overall condition and color of the dog and cat during the transaction; 3. be sure to pay attention to details, such as whether the pet’s natural holes (eyes, ears, mouth, nostrils, anus, etc.) are clean, whether the nose is moist, whether there are needle holes on the body, etc.
