>>I have heard of so many cases where ferrets have had a severe reaction
>>to the distemper vaccines that it has really worried me. My oldest is
>>going on 2 1/2 years old and he hasn't had it since we got him. I at
>>first didn't know he was suppose to get this and when we got our second
>>one a year later I found this out.
>>
>>Now, I haven't done it cause of all the stories about the reaction alot
>>of ferrets seem to have. I even have a friend here who's ferret has had
>>a severe reaction and has to have other shots to keep her from reacting
>>to it. ...
 
>For those who haven't heard, Merial got the go ahead from the USDA this
>past weekend for the new recombinant DNA ferret distemper vaccine.  I for
>one will be ordering it ASAP - the number of reactions during clinical
>trials was 1/147 ferrets, without pre-treatment.  No reactions found in
>300 lab ferrets tested.  Sounds good to me,
 
>
>-Dr. Karen
>
>DISCLAIMER:
>This e-mail is provided for general informational purposes only.  It is
>in no way intended as a replacement for a consultation with a qualified
>licensed veterinarian.  If you are concerned about your pet's health, you
>should seek the advice of your regular veterinarian as soon as possible.
 
  -----------
 
>There are a tremendous number of people responsible for bringing this
>vaccine to market, but I think that the ferret community should
>congratulate itself first and foremeost.  The hundreds of letters that
>went to Merial months ago were very instrumental in getting them to test
>the vaccine in ferrets.  This is a terrific example of what we can
>accomplish when we band together.  I am hopeful that someday soon,
>anaphylactic vaccine reactions in ferrets will only be a distant memory.
>
>Bruce Williams
 
[Sukie note: What Bruce Williams is too modest to say is that he is the
one Richard Montali of the National Zoo contacted when it became important
to get the early info about this vaccine out to the ferret public.  The
responses sent to Merial very likely prevented the project from being
shelved.  Many ferret resources became involved with the Ferret Mailing
List, "Modern Ferret" and the AFA standing out among the many playing
instrumental roles.
 
Karen Purcell has been essential for getting news on this vaccine out to
the public and keeping people up-dated.
 
When you add 300 lab tested animals (with no reactions) to over 100 field
tested animals whose people wanted to try this option (with one ferret
which reacted) you get 1 reaction in over 400 animals.  Compare that to
the reported rate of 2 per one hundred that Fervac's folks say they get
and you have a drug that is at least 8 times safer while effective and
tested specifically for ferrets.  This also appears to be a great
improvement over Galaxy, with which we have experienced and read of
reactions and which lacks formal testing for ferrets.
 
It also is developed for use on many wild animals so can be important
when epizooics occur in species that are at risk such as BFFs, lions, etc.
(Lions are felines but get and die from canine distemper.)
 
Not vaccinating can be extremely dangerous in many areas.  Canine
distemper is one of the more horrific ways an animal can die.
 
Please, let your vets, clubs, newsletter writers, show folks, etc. know.
 
This is a cross-post from the Ferret Health List:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Ferret-Health-list .]
[Posted in FML issue 3484]