No matter what a person's choices are the final topic addressed in this
post will interest you. Have you ever thought that your carpet choice
might effect how well your ferrets' vaccines work? See the non-ferret
study mentioned in the final part of this post.

On the FHL there is a discussion going on about the lack of proven
vaccines to fight CDV in the UK. Yes, it could really make sense
for ferret people in the UK to band together to either get the
manufacturers to at least do titer testing at one year after
vaccination (preferably, also at least at 6 months), or to have the
titers run at their own expense with the results compiled for many
ferrets for each of the vaccines tried.

Similarly, anyone here who feels pressed to try a vaccine that is not
proven to actually work should also be sure to one way or another have
independent titers run by experts (but not so close to the date of
vaccination as to be worthless). See the separate FHL Archives to find
posts with Cornell in the body to find the one that I happen to know
exists. You can link to those archives from the FHL homepage or use
the second addy in my sig lines. (BTW, getting titers done at your own
expense rather than the manufacturer's expense would make the whole
thing more costly than using Purevax which is a proven CDV vaccine
for ferrets, but it is still less costly in pain, sadness, veterinary
needs, and possible liability needs than using a vaccine not proven
to work if that vaccine fails.)

And this brings me to some very, very interesting very new studies:

E. Corsini et al. In vitro evaluation of the immunotoxic potential of
perfluorinated compounds (PFCs).
Toxicology and Applied Pharmacology, Vol. 250, January 15, 2011,
p. 108. doi: 10.1016/j.taap.2010.11.004.

P. Grandjean et al.
Serum vaccine antibody concentrations in children exposed to
perfluorinated compounds.
Journal of the American Medical Association,Vol. 307, January 25, 2012,
p. 391.

M.M. Peden-Adams et al.
Suppression of humoral immunity in mice following exposure to
perflulorooctane sulfonate.
Toxicological Sciences,Vol. 104, July 2008, p. 144.
doi: 10.1093/toxsci/kfn059.

The center one is not noted as being online yet, but here are the other
two, and i will check PubMed for the center abstract.
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0041008X10004291
http://toxsci.oxfordjournals.org/content/104/1/144.full.pdf+html

A very good write up on this topic, and notice that it has other links,
too:
<http://www.sciencenews.org/view/generic/id/337869/title/Nonstick_pollutants_may_cut_efficiency_of_vaccines_in_kids>

That article begins:
>Tiny concentrations of two common pollutants -- chemicals known as
>PFOA and PFOS -- in the blood may be linked to impaired immunity in
>children, a new study finds. In kids with the highest exposure to the
>chemicals, vaccinations can fail to trigger sufficient quantities of
>protective antibodies.

>... When subpar responses occur -- antibody levels below 0.1
>international units per milliliter -- "we can't rely on a vaccine
>as being effective,"
>
>... raise questions about whether such deficiencies might also
>point to a heightened vulnerability to allergy, asthma and even,
>potentially, autoimmune disease

Notice that ferrets in many households are running around, sleeping,
digging, snacking, and living close to carpets treated with such
compounds, including Scotchguard, and therefore their vaccines might
not work as well, so using some of the precautions to reduce risks
that were noted earlier in the discussions on Canine Distemper could
be especially important in such homes as could titers.

(Even though the middle study is not yet available, there are other
studies on other compounds that can reduce the effectiveness of
vaccines, for example PCBs did in this:
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2957925/?tool=pubmed
so check in PubMed for studies on the topic in general, please.)

Sukie (not a vet)

Recommended ferret health links:
http://pets.groups.yahoo.com/group/ferrethealth/
http://ferrethealth.org/archive/
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 7316]