After 100's and 100's of doses of Fervac given by the shelter and
its members, we saw the first positive reaction on Thursday night.  (We
suspect that another ferret had a reaction, but we were not positive.) I
gave Cooper a shot at 7 PM and within seconds he was gagging and foaming
at the mouth. It took me a moment to realize that it was not something he
ate, but anaphalactic shock. I rushed to my refrigerator and loaded a
syringe with the appropriate dose of Epinephrine. It was obvious that
Cooper was very, very sick.  I gave him the shot. By this time, he was not
breathing, his eyes were fixed and staring straight ahead, and he was
turning blue, so I started giving him artificial respiration. After about
1 minute, he started breathing on his own.
        I called an emergency clinic and told them what had happened so
they could be prepared when I got there.  I rushed him to the hospital
where they gave him Benadryl (injectable) and a steroid. Since I am
competent in giving fluids and know what subsequent signs to watch for (I
personally suffered anaphalactic shock from a Vitamin K injection), I took
him home that same night and monitored him constantly for 24 hours. Cooper
drank water the entire drive home so hydration was not necessary. He
visited his regular vet first thing Friday morning. He is doing well, but
is a little groggy from the Benadryl 3 times a day.
        The vet at the emergency clinic said that if I hadn't had the
Epinephrine, Cooper would have been dead. I know this was talked about
several months ago, but it bears repeating: when an animal gets a shot,
stick around for at least 30 minutes to make sure that a reaction does not
occur. Make sure Epinephrine is on hand, just in case (all vets will
have this on hand.) And since a variety of emergencies can happen any time
of the day or night, know what 24-hour care hospital is nearest.  Drive
there sometime when there isn't an emergency so you know the quickest
route. And please post the numbers for your vet, an emergency hospital,
and the National Animal Poison Control Center (NAPCC) near your phone!
        I reported this reaction to United Vaccine.  There is an official
form that should be filled out which your vet should have on hand. One
copy goes to the manufacturer and one to the FDA. United said that they
are experiencing 8 reactions for every 10,000 doses given. I neglected to
ask them if this was both minor and severe reactions or just reports of
anaphalactic shock. Please make sure to report any reactions so that if
reactions become too common, United will be pressured into investigating.
Galaxy-D has put out a disclaimer that their vaccine is *not* to be given
to ferrets (obviously to CYA.) Hopefully, we will have another source of
vaccines, soon.
 
        -Carla Almaraz
[Posted in FML issue 1159]