A contraceptive for dogs, developed by Chilean scientists and patented abroad, begins to be administered in Chile.

Registered with patent in 40 countries, including the USA, Argentina and Brazil as well as the European Union, the vaccine Egalitte represents an innovative alternative option for the management of animal reproduction.

With suggested price 50 dollars (about 46 euros), offers an alternative option to surgical castration or sterilization, which are irreversible procedures and involve risks.

Before being vaccinated, dogs must undergo clinical examinations. Females who are pregnant or immunosuppressed cannot get this vaccine, explains Hernán Aguilera of Ngen Lab, which makes and distributes it.

How it works – The benefits for the animal

“This is the first vaccine of this type in the world for dogs,” Leonardo Saenz of the University of Chile’s veterinary science school, head of the program, told AFP.

The researcher and his team have been working since 2009 on the development of the “vaccine”, the distribution of which began in October in Chile.

The vaccine consists of a immune product that mobilizes antibodiespreventing for one year the production of sex hormones in both female and male animals.

“Everything is blocked: sexual activity and fertility,” emphasizes Leonardo Saenz.

It acts as a kind ofimmunological castration,” preventing not only reproduction, but also inhibiting “sexual behaviors” in dogs that are linked to hormone production, Saenz explains.

“I didn’t want to operate on him. It pained me to remove limbs from him,” says Ivan Gutierrez, a 27-year-old student who took his dog, Francesco, to a veterinary clinic in Santiago to be vaccinated.

After one month, Ivan Gutierrez will have to visit the vet again with his dog for a booster dose and then return every year for a new dose if he wants his animal to remain infertile.

“Most owners are afraid of surgery,” confirms Mariela del Sas, a veterinarian at the clinic, citing the risks of cardiorespiratory arrest despite the tests that precede it.

In the other methods of temporary sterilization, the side effects they can be deterrents. The hormonal implant, “which works for three or four months (…), creates an imbalance that can cause side effects,” Saenz says.