Is there any known cases of death due to Neo? the reason I ask that I
understand there is a smear campaign as there are with competitors of
other products with each other - watch your tv ads how they cut each
other down. Also some are confusing the failure to get information
from the retailer A to Z rather than the actual manufacturer itself.

We used Galaxie D for years. They too were shot down about its use on
ferrets because it was a dog vaccine for rabies only. They didn't do
tests on ferrets as their prime target were dogs. They finally sold
out and the new owners quit manufacturing it as dog owners wanted the
combo. I bet we used it over 10 years and not one shingle death due to
using it. We were hit with distemper twice and lost 3 ferrets the first
time with us having close to 100 ferrets at the time and the second
time we were in the 70's and lost only the one I had put down because
it was so advanced. Absolutely no question we brought in infected
ferrets with distemper. . We did close down for 30 days too, didn't
take in new ferrets and didn't adopt out. We would have lost a lot of
ferrets had they not been vaccinated before this happened, they were
vaccinated with Galaxie D. Obviously, Galaxie D worked. Three different
vets were shocked we didn't lose more. The ones we lost hadn't had time
to built up an immunity from the time they had their shot to exposure.

If NeoVac DA is so dangerous, has it caused any deaths? There is a
difference between a dangerous drug and one that is non effective
against the disease. How much has been distributed and used and has
there been any reports of mass deaths as you would expect. The ones
to use the vaccines would be breeders, farms and rescues. They would
be vaccinating all their ferrets so it would stand to reason they
would have mass deaths, otherwise, as with any drug, you can expect
a reaction here and there. Do we even know of any of those. That is
the problem, it appears, we don't know. We do know there have been
reactions on the well used vaccines and we warn new owners of not
giving the rabies and distemper at the same time and to wait 30 minutes
afterward at the vets office just in case. Is this any different than
what we have been doing.

I sure would like to learn more about this. I really don't think rescue
groups can afford to do the research on this drug with titer tests as
expensive as they are nor having to keep the ferrets long enough to
determine the long term effect. If they are willing to get with the
manufacture where they will pay for it, that would be wonderful.

I have not heard of any lawsuits against a rescue group where they
had adopted out a ferret they vaccinated and it later did develop
distemper. Maybe it could happen but with most shelters, they don't
carry liability insurance nor do they have the big bucks worth such a
lawsuit. The fear of a lawsuit against this should be way down the line
of things to lose sleep over. People coming into your home with the
chance of falling, stubbing their toe, getting bite or scratched; these
are more likely to happen and unless you advise your insurance company
you are running a business out of your home, you still are not covered
for that either. (chances of them continuing to insure you after you
notify them is a worry too).

Millie and her Danes at the
Texas Ferret Lovers Rescue
www.txferretrescue.org

[Posted in FML 7313]