PLEASE...
have your VET call United and consult with them the proper methods of
pretreating and post treating and dealing with a reaction.  *After* my
Buddy had a reaction we called, informed them (ALWAYS ALWAYS ALWAYS have
your vet do this...they have no way of KNOWING about reactions and taking
steps to prevent them if they are not reported!!!!!!!!  MANY vets do not
report reactions.  BE SURE if you have a reaction that your vet does!),
and asked about protocols.
 
My vet was told to use *injectable* benadryl.  I am the one who had a
ferret react *6 hours AFTER* his distemper shot after pretreating on my
own.  I had to spend 40 agonizing minutes trying to get the local guy to
treat him.  Had it been a severe reaction, Buddy would have been dead.  Our
vet was an hour away (is now two hours.) Had the local guy not treated him,
he would have been dead.  I went through *everything* to figure out what
he reacted to...since reactions just don't happen 6+ hours after the fact,
right?  Wrong.  RARE.  Very rare.  But will that matter when it's your
fuzzy?  Rare doesn't count for much then.
 
We will pretreat, and post treat him properly next time.
 
Galaxy-D is not approved for vaccination against distemper in ferrets, and
the last I knew the manufacturer said to NOT use it in ferrets.  It is not
*known* to be effective (and I've heard through several ferret grapevines
stories that would indicate that there are hazzards in using it).  BEFORE
you use Galaxy, be SURE the manufacturer (your VET must call) says it's
okay to use in ferrets.  If the manufacturer doesn't say it's safe, then
don't use it.
 
Hopefully the new one will be available soon!
 
Always consult with your vet and have your vet consult with the
manufacterers of the products.  United claims to throw out any batch that
have any reactions...they test before they sell a batch.  If they do,
then they have no way of knowing how common reactions are unless they are
reported by the vets giving the vaccinations.
 
In some areas reactions have also been *greatly* reduced in both number
and severity by ordering directly from United, instead of getting through
a distributer...which means that in all likelihood at least a certain
percentage of the reactions are being caused by the vaccine being
mishandled in shipping and storage.
 
Sue
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[Posted in FML issue 3168]