>quotes our Dr Bruce Williams as saying it's too early to conclude that
>Galaxy will be harmless to ferrets.  That was 7 years ago; do we know
>anything more about it?  Has anyone out there used Galaxy on their kids?
 
Well, it is 7 years later, and Galaxy-D is the vaccine that I use on my own
ferrets.  There is no guarantee that an individual will not react with this
vaccine, but the overall incidence of reactions appears to be far less than
with Fervac.  Of course, all of the precautions are in effect with this or
any other vaccine - pretreatment with 2mg benedryl 10-30 minutes prior, and
remaining in the vet's office for 30 minutes after the vaccination.
 
I think that there is a sufficient body of knowledge both among ferret
owners, and with limited trials of this in the veterinary literature that
Galaxy D is effective in protecting against canine distemper, and that
there are no long-term adverse effects.  However, we must always be
cognizant of immediate risks associated with anaphylactic reactions
whenever we use any vaccine on our ferrets.
 
With kindest regards,
Bruce H. Williams, DVM, DACVP
 
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[Posted in FML issue 3434]