I've just been advised that field trials are now beginning on the new
canine distemper vaccine that's been discussed here in the past.  Here's
an interesting quote extracted from the information that's now on my Ferret
Health Care web site...
 
"When given to approximately 300 ferrets NO adverse reactions were
encountered.  In another study one group of ferrets were given *5* times
the normal dose, with NO vaccine reaction encountered.  During the daily
observations in the research studies, ferrets were checked multiple times
each day for body temperatures, amount of food and water consumed, bowel
habits, activity level, and for any physical signs that would indicate an
abnormality due to vaccinations.  There were NO abnormalities or changes
seen in any of the ferrets.  In other studies, vaccinated ferrets were
subjected to challenge with a virulent strain of CDV, they remained
protected against the disease."
 
These were preliminary trials done in the laboratory.  Real world testing
is the next step to getting this vaccine into veterinarians hands and your
help is needed.  If you live in South Florida, please visit my web site
(the adrenal/insulinoma web site listed in my signature).  Under "Breaking
News" is a link to the page that gives full details on the study and the
two participating vets (both in Broward).
 
If you live in other areas of the country (or state), you may want to
contact your vet to see if he/she is participating in the study or knows a
vet who is.  At this point in time, I do not have a listing of all
participating vets.
 
With all the stories here of life-threatening reactions to FERVAC, the
sooner this new vaccine passes all the test stages and becomes available,
the better off our ferrets will be.
 
Thanks go to Kathy Salimy, ferret lover extraordinaire, for keeping me
updated on the status of the study.
 
For the ferrets,
Mike
 
* Michael F. Janke, [log in to unmask]
* South Florida Ferret Help Line, 305-752-7040
*
* Website:  http://www.miamiferret.org
* Adrenal/Insulinoma web site: http://www.miamiferret.org/fhc
[Posted in FML issue 3153]