Krista writes
It is sad that all those ferrets had to die, especially for a vaccine.

I believe I have read that in most flu testing on ferrets, the ferrets
are NOT killed!  Nasal and throat swabs and blood tests provide the
information needed for the research.  Unlike in humans, bird flu is
not so deadly in ferrets.  At least in some cases with flu research,
ferrets have been adopted out after testing was complete.

This type of research is far less invasive than some of the brain
development research that is done using ferrets.

I know there are strongly held differing views on the use of animals
in research.  This is not meant to provoke such a discussion.

Linda Iroff
[Posted in FML issue 5277]