Debi wrote:
>Think about it, people said the same thing about Galaxy D. Although
>Galaxy D wasn't tested very long, it had proved to be a VERY effective
>Canine distemper vaccine to protect our ferrets against CDV. It's a
>shame that it was discontinued.

Sorry. Birdwhistle wrote, " Absence of evidence is not evidence of
absence" Nor should it be treated as if it is the opposite. Absence
of evidence is nothing more than that. Similarly, the lack of
effectiveness testing for ferrets of Neovac can not be treated as if
that means the vaccine will or won't work in ferrets. Nor should a
minimal safety study be taken to mean that the vaccine will be safe
or unsafe. Assumptions in EITHER direction, good or bad, can not be
accurately based upon a lack of information.

Nor should you assume that there was not a basis for thinking that
Galaxy D had a good chance of working. The manufacturer of that
vaccine created it as a variant of an earlier vaccine (by the same
manufacturer, not United's Fervac) which had rather extensive
effectiveness and safety work done in ferrets, though Galaxy D itself
only had one small and short effectiveness study. Knowing that the
earlier vaccine from which Galaxy D was shaped was a good vaccine gave
a basis for a somewhat educated reason to try it.

I am wracking my brains to try to recall the name of that vaccine from
which Galaxy D was developed. Dr. Williams and I discussed our memories
from those days maybe last year and I recalled it then but am having a
heck of time remembering it now. OH, I know: Fromm-D! Galaxy-D was
developed from Fromm-D which had quite extensive testing -- both for
safety and effectiveness -- in ferrets. That is why vets decided to try
it in the first place after being sure that it was not made or modified
from ferret cell lines.

So, your comparison, Debi, is NOT a valid one. Sorry. Just facts.

Sukie (not a vet)

Recommended ferret health links:
http://pets.groups.yahoo.com/group/ferrethealth/
http://ferrethealth.org/archive/
http://www.afip.org/ferrets/index.html
http://www.miamiferret.org/
http://www.ferrethealth.msu.edu/
http://www.ferretcongress.org/
http://www.trifl.org/index.shtml
http://homepage.mac.com/sukie/sukiesferretlinks.html
all ferret topics:
http://listserv.ferretmailinglist.org/archives/ferret-search.html

"All hail the procrastinators for they shall rule the world tomorrow."
(2010, Steve Crandall)
On change for its own sake: "You can go really fast if you just jump
off the cliff." (2010, Steve Crandall)

[Posted in FML 7074]