Hey Rochelle
 
Gosh I hope that no one would be flaming you for asking questions,
especially one that I know I have asked myself more than once!
 
When I asked my vets and United Vaccine about what to do now that I have a
ferret that reacted to the vaccination, the reply that I received was
basically: dont vaccinate any more.
 
Yes, the ferret may continue to have protection beyond the 12 months, and
yes the ferret may receive protection if housed with currently vaccinated
ferrets, but as far as titer testing -- no vet to my knowledge has the test
scale to compare to.  I know I am explaining this badly, but if there is not
a set scale (like testing for insulinoma, if a fasting BG is under 70, then
dignosis is insulinoma; a normal range is 80-110.) Then the other problem is
finding a lab to test for the amount of antibodies present in the blood, as
well as how often you would test - monthly?  bi monthly?  When is too little
a gap in protection?  Would the test be so expensive that it wouldn't be
performed?
 
I agree that probably we are vaccinating our animals more often than
necessary, but as you said, the spectre of disease and death is enough to
prompt us for yearly vaccinations.  I do not know and probably the vaccine
manufacturers did not test for the length of time that the vaccinations are
effective in ferrets -- that of course would mean more studies, similar to
the rabies studies done by the Morris Animal Foundation.
 
I think you raised some interesting questions, and would be interested in
hearing what other folks think.  (And just to make it clear, my ferrets
receive annual rabies and distemper vaccinations -- and certainly would not
advocate not vaccinating yearly)
 
Lisa, Head Ferret
The Ferret Haven "By-the-Sea"
[Posted in FML issue 2251]