One year Fannie and Farrah both developed respiratory congestion after
their rabies vaccine.  Farrah, already inflicted with insulinoma, never
fully recovered and died a few months later.  Fannie, who was younger and
healthy, fully recovered and has been fine for 3 years since.  I suspect
there was a problem with the vaccine batch and our vet reported the
reactions.  I wrote a courteous letter explaining the problem to the
vaccine manufacturer but never got a response.
 
Just yesterday, Fannie had a delayed inflammatory response to her
distemper vaccine.  She has displayed sensitivity the past 3 years but
this was the worst time and her vet is recommending no more distemper
shots.  She's healthy at 6 1/2 years old aside from being deaf.  Today
she appears normal and I'm not expecting lasting ramifications but plan
to follow our vet's recommendations.
 
During Fannie's episode, I naturally consulted ferret information on the
net and noticed conflicting thought on how long the vaccine might be
effective: 1 or 2 years.  Does anyone know if studies show a definite
length of time?  For Fannie's sake I hope it's 2 years.
 
Alice
[Posted in FML issue 4117]