Chile has introduced a new vaccine that temporarily sterilizes dogs for one year. The vaccine, known as Egalitte, is expected to be sold in several countries, and was developed to provide dog owners an alternative to irreversible surgical castration.1 It was initially intended to address Chile’s growing population of stray dogs.2
“This is the first vaccine of this type in the world for dogs,” said veterinarian Leonardo Saenz, lead researcher and professor at the University of Chile’s faculty of veterinary science.3
Dr. Saenz and his team developed the vaccine from an existing formula used to sterilize pigs. He stated:
It began in Australia more or less in 1989. What we did was to take the concept of immuno-castration, which already existed and we developed and improved for use in domestic animals, mainly in dogs, and to create an alternative for pigs, better than what already exists. The previous one was a vaccine by a pharmaceutical laboratory, which needs two doses to take effect. In our case, only one dose is needed for the vaccine to take effect.4
Immuno-Castrator Egalitte Vaccine Blocks Fertility in Dogs
The Egalitte vaccine has been in development since 2009. It was distributed in October 2023 and is designed to stimulate the production of antibodies that suppress sex hormone production in both male and female dogs. Saenz said, “
Everything is blocked: sexual activity and fertility,” preventing reproduction for one year.5 “If we have (that hormone) blocked, we don’t release gonadotropin and therefore don’t release sexual hormones, and the animal is in a state of castration.”
The Egalitte researchers said that the vaccine mechanism ensures that it is effective for both genders, making it reversible option for dog sterilization.6
Saenz explained:
Since it is a vaccine which blocks the production of hormones, it does not function as a contraceptive but rather an immuno-castrator. The difference is that contraceptives prevent animals from going on heat. It will still engage in reproductive activity but it will not be able to fertilize. In this case, there are no hormones so there is no activity; there are no gametes so the animal is sterilized as a result of suppressed hormones. As there is a reduction in the hormonal activity, there are no side effects as is the case with hormonal contraceptives on which they put high quantities of contraceptive or hormones, which induce alterations in the uterus and can be related to the appearance of some cancers. In this case that does not happen, we block that activity.7
The Egalitte vaccine is priced at approximately $54. It requires a veterinarian’s prescription and evaluation to ensure that the dog is a suitable candidate. Saenz pointed out that the vaccine could also help neuter animals on a wider scale, as it is less invasive and less complicated than surgical castration. He noted:
An injection is a lot easier and you can vaccinate a larger number of animals if you to do reproduction control need.8
Egalitte Vaccine Patented in United States
Egalitte has been patented in 40 countries, including the United States, Argentina, Brazil, and throughout the European Union. It is the first vaccine designed for dog sterilization, intended for both individual animals and population control. Distribution has begin in Chile, with plans to expand availability to several other countries.
The potential effects of this vaccine on veterinary practices and animal management strategies are still to be determined.9
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Click here to view References:1 Science Alert. New Vaccine Can Temporarily Neuter Dogs For a Single Year. Oct. 23, 2024.
2 Reuters. Chilean scientists create contraceptive vaccine for dogs. Oct. 12, 2015.
3 Science Alert. New Vaccine Can Temporarily Neuter Dogs For a Single Year. Oct. 23, 2024.
4 Reuters. Chilean scientists create contraceptive vaccine for dogs. Oct. 12, 2015.
5 Science Alert. New Vaccine Can Temporarily Neuter Dogs For a Single Year. Oct. 23, 2024.
6 Cortes N, Villegas A. Chilean scientists develop reversible dog neutering vaccine. Reuters Oct. 4, 2024.
7 Reuters. Chilean scientists create contraceptive vaccine for dogs. Oct. 12, 2015.
8 Cortes N, Villegas A. Chilean scientists develop reversible dog neutering vaccine. Reuters Oct. 4, 2024.
9 Science Alert. New Vaccine Can Temporarily Neuter Dogs For a Single Year. Oct. 23, 2024.
2 Responses
Oh my God. Is it mRNA?
That’s scary.
The trans community after reading this article; Where can I get some of that!?!?
I mean isn’t this the dream goal of the non binary gender bender crowd, something exactly like this available for humans?
For this article, what a joke, but people are actually buying in. So instead of a one time neutering or spaying, they get to sell a fancy vaccine that needs re applied every dang year. Cha Ching! Dollar signs in their eyes. Do something for goldfish and guppies next, we’d like to enjoy these critters without them breeding as much. Then do red ants. And annoying bunnies. How about pesky squirrels because our yankee whirler device keeps breaking and we’re using a lot of batteries here. My personal wish list is to give this shot to every house cat in the entire world, as we have long since sided with the bird population instead. Will this work on wolves? What about black mamba’s in the jungle? Limitless application potential, you’ve just got to hire a lot of people to get out there, wrangle and capture these live animals, jab them up, an additional dose for good measure, tag em, bag em, release them back into the wild. Then repeat the same process next year and make sure you catch all at once, no got aways allowed.
Think of the manpower and resources that went into all of this. Was that ten thousand human man hours? A hundred thousand? Certainly there was a team of a dozen people in white labcoats, janitors, accountants, pr people, distribution, warehousing, production, storage, transport, logistics, end point distribution and subsequent inventory, sales, taxation, the works. Compare that to one veterinarian simply performing a one time neutering or spaying of the animal. Which one makes more financial sense to you?