[gramie]

There has been a vaccine for dogs and cats for a while now, not sure why it hasn't been released for humans yet. Lyme can be really horrible. Some people we know have a 30-something son who was very active (camping, hiking, rock climbing, etc.) until he was bitten by a tick. Now he's quadriplegic.

[nik282000]

Lots of drugs work for dogs and cats because they don't live longer than 25yrs. A human has 3-4x the lifespan during which side effects can be worse than the disease.

[kadoban]

Is that true? I don't know of really any medicine that has side effects 25 years down the line. Would we even know? We don't test new meds that long before release.

Isn't it more because meds are cheaper to test on animals and liability is much lower?

[nik282000]

When I asked why there is no human equivalent of flea/tick drops my vet said it was because "when you only live to be 20, you don't worry about smoking when you are 10."

[b112]

I think the original, mouse brain derived Japanese Enephilitis vaccine, now discontinued, caused symptoms years later.

But prions were the cause, and those are slow acting.

The new, safer vaccine is only recommended if you're going to Japan or surrounding areas, and planning to going outside the city.