To Melanie Pacella:
 
>Is this [SK] distemper vaccine okay to use or should they be using
>either Fromm-D or Fervac-D annually?
 
    Melanie - chances are that your ferrets won't suffer any ill effects from
this vaccine - as I reall, it is a chicken embryo cell line.  As we have said
many times before on the FML - it is the ferret cell line vaccines that can
result in a case of distemper in vaccinated ferrets, but ferret cell-derived
vaccines are very difficult to find these days.
 
    However, it is inappropriate, as Fervac-D is approved for ferrets, and
probably is the one that should be the vet's first choice.  Also, if you have
these questions - don't get the shots.  This is a question that should be
brought up with your vet before he gives the shots, not as an afterthought.
Luckily, there's no danger here - but make sure your vet explains EVERYTHING
he's going to do to your pet before he does it.  If you're not sure, wait and
get it done in a few days, after you have checked it out...
 
    In Aberdeen try John Moffa at the Aberdeen Veterinary Clinic.  And you're
only about an hour away from Dr. Charlie Weiss, one of our contributing vets
here at the FML....
 
--
Bruce Williams, DVM, DACVP              Department of Veterinary Pathology
[log in to unmask]               Armed Forces Institute of Pathology
[log in to unmask]             Washington, D.C.  20306-6000
(202) 782-2600/2602
[Posted in FML issue 1182]