I wanted to respond to a couple of posts from a few FMLs back about
improving the way county animal shelters treat ferrets, and I also had a bit
of info to add about ferret vaccines in Europe.
 
Regarding the shelters, Dick Bossart wrote:
>Most of these shelters are very reluctant to euthanise any animal. Perhaps
>if you gave them sufficient technical information concerning the "actual"
>non-threat of rabies in ferrets, they would be more likely to send the
>ferrets to you rather than kill them. <snip...>
Unfortunately, I did *not* get this impression from our local animal
shelter.  Although I'm certain that the people at our local animal shelter
*regret* euthanizing any animal, it seemed apparent to me that stray animals
with no identification and no history of rabies vaccination are invariably
and promptly killed.  Our state has experienced quite a large outbreak of
rabies among wild animals this summer, and state officials are very serious
about controlling its spread.  Most cases occurred in foxes and raccoons,
most of which were reported in the southeastern part of the state.  I did
hear of at least one rabid cat and there might have been others I never
heard of.
 
There *was* an incident in New Hampshire not long ago that scared a lot of
animal shelters.  A sizeable number of people were exposed to a rabid
kitten.  (I don't remember if this was at a pet store or shelter.) More than
650 persons were treated for rabies.  The total cost of this one incident
was estimated at more than $1.5 million.  (Post-exposure treatment for
rabies costs more than $1,000 per person and I'm sure the state pays for or
subsidizes this cost for people who can't afford the cost.) I'm sure this
made an impression on shelters everywhere.
 
As for the "non-threat" of rabies in ferrets...NorthCarolina is not
especially ferret-friendly to begin with.  Given that rabies is nearly 100%
lethal in humans once symptoms appear and given the current epidemic of the
virus in wild animals in the state, the state officials have little interest
in instituting a quarantine period for carnivores other than cats and dogs.
 
I would certainly like to see more information on the KSU/CDC study.  No
offense intended, but if I were a public health official in North Carolina,
I'm not sure that I would be convinced that ferrets do not shed the virus
from the brief description you provided, but then, we're trained to be
hypercritical of any study in epidemiology...occupational hazard.  Are there
any studies under way to determine whether *vaccinated* ferrets can be
infected with rabies, and if so, whether they transmit the virus in saliva?
If no transmission ocuurs, it would be a strong argument for convincing
state officials to adopt a quarantine period for vaccinated ferrets.
 
BTW, for those interested, I did a Medline search of new diagnostic
procedures for rabies. There are several new techniques being used that
are more sensitive than microscopy to identify the characteristic brain
lesions (Negri bodies), but all of them sample brain tissue. So, at least
for now, even the new diagnostic tests require killing the animal.  :(
 
Regarding Fervac-D vaccine in Europe, BIG wrote:
>If Roberto spends enough money he *may* be able to get the FERVAC-D
>shipped, but even FedEx takes 2 - 3 days to get to Italy, and vaccines
>should be kept cold to maintain their quality...i.e. more money.
 
I spoke with the manufacturer of Fervac-D and asked how the vaccine was
produced.  They told me that Fervac-D is shipped freeze-dried and is
reconstituted with sterile water just before injection, so shipping is not a
problem.
[Moderator's note: The manufacturer or FERVAC-D (United Vaccines) says the
vaccine must be stored at 2 to 7 degrees Celius.  They always ship in a
cold pack.  While freeze dried vaccines may not be as sensitive as the
liquids, they still must be kept cold to maintain their quality.  BIG]
 
However, the EC countries set their own health standards and it *is*
possible the Italian health officials would not allow a foreign vaccine in
the country for domestic use.  That's something Roberto would need to check
on his end.
 
For those curious, the manufacturer told me that Fervac-D is an attenuated
live virus grown in chick embryos.  It was originally developed for mink
ranching.  This probably wouldn't help much in finding a comparable
distemper vaccine in Europe.  The ability of a vaccine to protect against
infection depends on many factors and some vaccines--depending on how they
are produced--can vary markedly in efficacy from batch to batch.  So,
finding a European vaccine grown in chick embryos doesn't mean that it
protects to the same degree as Fervac-D.
 
>The IMRAB is even a worse candidate - I doubt the Italian government would
>accept that vaccine at all.  I think the best bet is to find the closest
>European vaccines that will do the job.  We're not talking ends of the
>earth here - in many cases Europe is ahead of the US in these things.
<snip...>
 
I agree.  Europe has different animal reservoirs for rabies than the U.S.
and thus the rabies strains are different.  I'd be willing to guess that
the EC has vaccines developed specifically for the strains endemic to
Europe.  One would want to use a vaccine designed to be effective against
the local strains of rabies.
--Jeff Johnston  ([log in to unmask])
[Posted in FML issue 1369]