To Linda Iroff:
 
>One office insisted that they need both dog and cat distemper vaccinations.
>The office worker said she used to raise ferrets, and had one get feline
>distemper. Is she nuts?
 
        No, just a little "out of time".  When I started as a vet way back
10 years ago, it was accepted practice to vaccinate with both cat and dog
distemper shots.  No one knew any better.  Now we know that ferrets do not
get feline distemper, (see how far we've come in ten years), so we don't
give it any longer.
 
>They both mentioned Fort Dodge as a canine vaccine, and one also mentioned
>Tech America.  Are these safe for use on ferrets?
 
        The name doesn't mean anything.  It's the cell line that the virus
is grown in.  Probably both are chick embryo cell line origin, which will be
okay.  But for best results, use the only ferret-approved vaccine Fervac-D.
In animals who react to Fervac, Galaxy-D is the next choice.
While Galaxy-D is not approved for ferrets, the vast body of knowledge says
that it doesn't seem to have any side effects.  While most American-made
vaccines are acceptable for use (are not grown in ferret cells), we try to
stick to a few tried-and-true vaccines that are used widely in ferrets.
 
Bruce H. Williams, DVM         Dept. of Veterinary Pathology
Chief Pathologist, AccuPath    Armed Forces Institute of Pathology
[log in to unmask]         Washington, D.C.  20306-6000
                               [log in to unmask]
[Posted in FML issue 1243]