To David Finster:
 
> He said that the canine distemper vaccine would kill the ferrets,
>and made a point of giving the feline distemper vaccine.
 
      OK.  I think its time to get a new vet.  This gaffe in choosing a
vaccine and the misinformation about canine distemper vaccine killing
ferrets is pretty severe.  Only rarely do  I recommend moving on - but
you've paid for three useless vaccines, meanwhile, your ferret still has
absolutely NO protection against canine distemper whatsoever.  Feline
distemper is a parvovirus, canine distemper is a morbillivirus - although
the diseases share the same name, they are two totally different types of
virus - offering no cross protection whatsoever.
 
>Is the Feline distemper vaccine dangerous?
No, just totally useless.
>Am I safe in assuming that I need to treat this like they have had no shots
>at all and start all over again with canine distemper?
 
     You are correct.  And don't wait.  Move on to another vet.  Someone
who shows this level of ignorance about vaccination will probably have
absolutely NO knowledge should one of the ferrets (God forbid) become
actually sick....
 
>For Rabies, he gave "SmithKline Beecham A, Killed Vaccine".  I have no other
>information from the paperwork.  Is this the correct vaccine?
 
    No.  This is not an approved vaccine, although it may confer some
protection.
 
Bruce Williams, DVM, DACVP
[Posted in FML issue 1307]