I'm sorry that Paco and you had to go through such a terrible reaction and
death.  It's true that it would be wonderful to have alternative vaccines
for distemper and rabies.  Both are horrific diseases, with protracted
suffering, and distemper is very contagious.  Unfortunately, it is not
possible to develop a vaccine which doesn't have some chance of causing
reactions.  That's because reactions are a goof by the body itself.  It can
be useful to use different matrices when possible than are used with other
vaccines because that reduces the number of exposures to those ingredients,
and I have read that some things are just more inclined to be allergans (an
interesting research topic in itself); so the problem is to develop
something effective without as great a probability of reactions -- and that
takes money -- which means the encouragement and probably at least some of
the funding need to come from animal lovers until pharmaceuticals think
ferrets offer enough profit to offset the R&D costs.  The simple fact is
that ANYTHING can cause a lethal allergic reaction (or worse: survivible
reaction with brain damage) in an individual mammal prone to anaphaletic
reactions -- hey, I've just been lucky to get caught in time when I've had
those reactions for tomato, chocolate, several other common foods, and some
meds.  (Had someone with a broken limb dumped from an emergency ward to wait
longer one of those times to make room for me because I got very close to
surfing the rainbow.) There is NOT such a thing as being totally free of the
risk of reaction and unfortunately as far as anyone can see ahead for now
there won't be.  Anaphalaxia is an exceedingly difficult problem; sometimes
even in the research studies of it people have died, sometimes multiple
individuals.  Please, accept sympathies from Steve and I, but realize that
nothing is ever completlely safe.  You did all you could and did it
lovingly, and so did your vet; that's all anyone could ask or expect.
 
Oh, speaking of bad responses (but different ones with different vaccines):
when the safest rabies vaccines were first tested (At least part of this
was done at Marshall Farms; I know because Judi Bell told me about it.) one
vaccine was found to be needed more than once a year so was unacceptable,
and another turned out to cause serious health problems in ferrets.
(Despite the health damage Judi still had one of the handicapped survivors
of that vaccine as a personal pet the last time I spoke with her so she had
a long life, at least, with constant, expert, loving care.).  There's also
the well known problem of ferrets having gotten rabies when innoculated
with live rabies vaccine.  Unless things have changed VERY recently IMRAB-3
is still the only known safe and effective one for ferrets.  With others
your ferret might face some serious risks.
 
Unless things have changed very recently, Anne is completely right about
ECE not being confirmable by test.  What your vet CAN do is eliminate the
possibilities which can be tested for like giardia, coccidea, E. coli, etc,
and those which can be eliminated by questioning with correct answers
(allowing that ferrets still might get into things without being noticed at
times) such as lawn chemicals and some cleaning supplies.  We found out
that just one or two licked-up drops of bleach found under the spout of
well-rinsed sink will look like a mix of ECE and blockage without lethargy
for a day or two.  USE YOUR VET.  IF YOUR FERRET IS ILL GET THE FERRET TO A
VET.  DON'T WORRY ABOUT IT BEING NOTHING; YOU WON'T BE THOUGHT FOOLISH FOR
BEING CAREFUL.  GO TO YOUR EXPERT!!!!!  Remember, that there are many
things vets can do for maintaining a ferret with ECE, treating one with
helicobacter, treating one with some types of poisonings, treating for
coccidea, etc.  (ALSO, GET INFO SUCH AS ALL THE MEDICAL FAQs TO YOUR VET!!!!
Good vets are always open to learning.  You can get the medical FAQs by
following the instructions at the top of this page or going to
http://www.ferretcentral.org .)
 
Doorways are SUCH good places for stinky border signs, aren't they -- like
us putting visible signs at state lines.  We use runner and newspapers
there.
 
Sweets don't CAUSE diabetes, and taurine isn't raisin flavoring.  Unless
things have turned on their heads recently, treats in moderation are fine IF
an individual doesn't have existing pancreatic problems or some other good
medical reason to not have any.  (Fruit fiber can worsen numbers of anal
prolapses in those with such re-occurent problems, etc.) Taurine is an
essential amino acid.  Feel better?  BTW, we also get our Totally Ferret
through the mail and have been consistently happy with the service received
and the food.
 
Y2K -- good points.  We recently read a study of the power companies in the
U.S. which are vulnerable to going down at the change; only 1/10th had
begun making plans to correct the problem.  Perhaps I should put part of
our retirement money into generator manufacturers?  I would not trust some
of the water purification plants then, either.  Here's one more: many
hospitals and much hospital equipment is expected to have problems.  This
says to me that there may also be pieces of veterinary equipment which might
be vulnerable -- something more for vets to check.  Sorry.
 
Loved the spinning story!  Ferrets can learn language so very well.
 
7 year old 'Chopper's ultrasound is tomorrow.  Shes' on 0.5 ml of Furosemide
three times a day today but she felt pretty good yesterday so might have
overdone it.  We need to know how much room she's got left in her heart, and
what her current contractility looks like.  6 year old Spot is grinding
again and going in on Saturday.  One of the furballs may still be there, or
there may be an injury from passing so much, ulcer, infection, or something
else.
 
Sukie
[Posted in FML issue 2365]