Blood test question

I started my dog on the PETS scheme back in February.  His microchip was done in 2008.  I had his rabies vaccine given on February 28, 2011 and had his bloodwork drawn on March 21, 2011.  I called today to get a shipping quote (British Airways) and they said the bloodwork had to be drawn at least 30 days after the vaccine.  Is that correct?  Do I really need to start all over with the 6 month process?   

If starting over is necessary, I'm better off waiting for new rules to go into effect at this point.    It sounds like they won't require a blood test at all after January 1, 2012.

As long as the bloodwork result passes, it doesn't matter when you do it. (Provided it's still in 1) microchip 2) vaccinate 3) bloodwork order.)

From DEFRA:

Step 3 – Arrange a blood test – After your pet has been vaccinated, it must be blood tested to make sure the vaccine has given it a satisfactory level of protection against rabies. (NB: ferrets do not need a blood test when they come from the EU or listed third country).

And here

When to blood test
Each UK rabies vaccine manufacturer advises in its datasheet for the vaccine the best time for a blood sample to be taken after the vaccination. Make sure your vet gives you a signed record of the date the blood sample was taken with the microchip number clearly stated.

Blood test result
A satisfactory blood test result must show the rabies neutralising antibody titre was equal to or greater than 0.5 IU/ml. Make sure your vet gives you a certified copy of the blood test result with the microchip number correctly shown.

I have no idea why BA World Cargo said it had to be 30 days.  I did call my vet for his rabies vaccine history.  He had a 2 year vaccine on March 31, 2009 and a 3 year vaccine on February 28, 2011.  Microchipped before both of those.  So his vaccine never expired.  I just worry they're going to give me problems when I drop him off at the airport.  I phoned them again for clarification.  They're calling me back.

It definitely makes sense that if passed at 21 days, he should be fine.

I flew my pets BA World Cargo last spring, and they didn't mention anything, so you may have just gotten a confused employee. My boys were re-vaccinated and then did the bloodwork 12 days later, and passed.

When I called DEFRA a couple of months ago to get things sorted, I was told that the amount of time after the vaccine to do the blood draw should be based on the vaccine manufacturer's recommendation.  Our vet uses the Merial vaccine, and their rep said 21 days.  So maybe the 30-day minimum was a BA policy, or maybe someone at BA was just misinformed.

BTW: thanks for the mention of the new DEFRA regs!  We're actually going over on 3 January 2012, so it may be that I've done some of this paperwork and such for naught, but it also might mean I don't have to take all three (two cats and a dog) in for the last-minute tick and bacteria treatments.  I'll call DEFRA in the morning to verify.

BA World Cargo was supposed to call me back and of course, they didn't.  So I will call them again tomorrow.  If they absolutely insist on the 30 days, I'll have to have his bloodwork redone OR wait to fly him until after January 1st OR find another airline carrier.  It might be cheaper to just wait to fly.  I think the bloodwork cost close to $200 the first time. 

As long as the bloodwork result passes, it doesn't matter when you do it. (Provided it's still in 1) microchip 2) vaccinate 3) bloodwork order.)

From DEFRA:
And here

I agree with this. I think they just tell people 30 days so they're not going in there the next day expecting it to show up. As long as the blood work passes, I wouldn't worry about it.

BA World Cargo was supposed to call me back and of course, they didn't.  So I will call them again tomorrow.  If they absolutely insist on the 30 days, I'll have to have his bloodwork redone OR wait to fly him until after January 1st OR find another airline carrier.  It might be cheaper to just wait to fly.  I think the bloodwork cost close to $200 the first time. 

I think it cost me about $150 for both pets in 2009.

it also might mean I don't have to take all three (two cats and a dog) in for the last-minute tick and bacteria treatments.  I'll call DEFRA in the morning to verify.

It sounds like the tick/tapeworm thing is still up in the air, but I'd hope by January they'd have it ironed out (ideally by not requiring either).

I think it cost me about $150 for both pets in 2009.

I must have an expensive vet.  It was $80 for test, $75 for overnight shipping and $35 for the vet visit.

I called BA World Cargo back today.  The man I spoke to said the order of things is most important.  He didn't say anything about 30 days after vaccination and the info he emailed me didn't say anything about it either.  So I think we'll be OK! 

Thanks everyone for your help!  One less thing to worry about. 

Just as another follow-up in case this applies to anyone else in the next 5 months...this response was from Tom at BA World Cargo:

I verified with my supervisor and he said that techinically there is a waiting period of 21-30days between the rabies vaccination & the blood test but if the blood test is done within this time frame and shows titer level 0.5ml or above then its good.