Judy wrote:
>I don't see dogs dying all around me from distemper.
 
Two possibilities; one, the disease is not common in your area (but check
with your vet, they should have a handle on how common it is in the
immediate area).  The second possibility is that most dogs in the area are
vaccinated against the disease.
 
>Distemper attacks the young, the old and the sick.  If your animals fit
>that then vaccinate by all means.
 
First time I've read that!  OK, I went thru two books (they are not ferret
books), here's what they say (both written by vets):
  "This is a highly contagious disease caused by a virus and secondary
  bacterial infection.  Though it is more common in young dogs (less than
  a year old) it occurs at any age.)" (Source: _Animal_Health_Technology_
  2nd ed)
 
  "Flies and other insects can spread it.  <snip> Distemper is not
  confined to any one season of the year, nore does it exempt any age,
  sex, breed or color of dog.  One possible\ exeption is the pregnant
  bitch, who in some way is protected by her pregnancy to such an extent
  that one often hardly realizes she has the disease.  If she does
  contract it toward the end of pregnancy, she may whelp her puppies
  and, in doing so lose her protection and be as severly affected as any
  dog.
 
  "It has often been suggested that dogs in fine physical condition are
  able to throw the disease off.  This is doubtful.  Whole kennels of
  dogs in top condition have been known to contract Carre distemper."
  (Source-_The_Complete_Book_of_Dog_Care_)
 
I plan to keep vaccinating mine each and every year unless they develop
nasty reactions which can't be controlled by premedicating.  IMO, only if
the vaccination itself is of more risk than the risk of exposure/death from
the disease should the animal not be vaccinated.  The vaccination clinics
which used to run out of Petco around here won't do old animals because
their immune systems may be comprimised (i.e., they may be at higher risk
to *get* the disease from even the modified live virus used in a distemper
vaccine).
 
(Just to clarify, Petco still does vaccination clinics, but this service
has been switched to a different company, I don't know what their policy
is.)
 
One last though on distemper.  It hits wild animals also; raccoons for
example are susceptible to both canine and feline distemper.  Any time
someone (at least around here) says "sick raccoon"), people think of
rabies- that's not necessariy why the animal is ill.
 
-Ilena Ayala
[Posted in FML issue 2425]