Mrs. Duck responded to Scott:
>Distemper is airborne, and even though I was keeping him in the house, I was
>afraid that even an open window could invite the virus in.  As I live near
>some woods with lots of animals like skunks, deer, coons, etc., (I don't
>know if these animals can carry distemper, but didn't want to take chances)
>I wanted to be as safe as I could under the circumstances.
 
You better believe that these animals, particularly raccoons, get distemper.
I live in Porter County in Northern Indiana.  The woods are thick and full
of animals over much of the county, including a state park at the famous
Indiana Dunes on the south end of Lake Michigan.  There, the naturalists
observe (as I and others observe elsewhere), that the raccoon populations
move up and down over several years.  As they become more populus, distemper
is more easily spread and it then goes like wildfire and kills off a large
number of raccoons to the point where it is spread less efficiently and the
epidemic stops.  About 5-6 years later, the population builds up again and
the epidemic returns.
 
So if you live in an area that is highly populated with animals like
raccoons, skunks and other animials suscepticle to distemper, then there is
a risk of airborne exposure.  How much, heck I don't know, but because I
lost a dog and cat to it when I was a kid and I don't plan to lose my two
ferrets the same way, I feel its worse the risk of reaction or worth it to
find Galaxy next time.
[Posted in FML issue 1861]