Fred wrote:
>>Ask older people about how they used to raise their animals and the
>>lower incidence of diseases back then, and the answer is there as to
>>why health problems are on the rise.
>>
>>Amy

>What gives you the impression that there was "less disease back
>then"???

I think what Amy was getting at was that there seemed to be possibly a
higher number who lived to old-old ages (9 years and over), and also
that repeatedly vets and those of us who were around then say that we
saw fewer cases of adrenal disease and fewer cases of insulinoma. That
isn't illusion according to some vets I know who practiced on ferrets
then.

That said, even a good number of the old British breeders used to give
advice to always have nest boxes and other dark places available or the
ferrets would sicken.

BTW, not all ferrets DID live well or long back then. I have quietly
heard from some in Britain that in some areas hunting ferrets have been
considered so disposable that the life spans have for along time been
down to no more than 4 or 5 years among some of those farms with death
at 2 or 3 not unusual. Luckily, those sound to be an exception.
Certainly, the same was often seen here with fur farm fitch back when,
and there are always the in-breeders anywhere and any time who have
those results.

Meanwhile, I suspect that the rates of some other things have changed
for the better, but honestly, I am not sure, so would rather not
venture mentioning any by name except perhaps one that I feel more
confident on though it might only reflect coincidence: there seemed to
be a much larger percentage encountering fatal splenic rupture back
then.

Something new that interests me: we already have abundant evidence from
many independent studies that when you add up too few hours with
complete darkness combined with being neutered that adrenal tumors are
more likely and that genetics also plays a role in that. There is some
new evidence that the osteoblasts (bone builders) in bone also send
hormonal signals to the pancreas which result in increased insulin and
increases responsiveness to insulin. Karsenty et. al. of Columbia found
that Osteocalcin which is produced by Osteoblasts increases insulin
levels and responsiveness to insulin. So, bones join fat is having
unexpected endocrinological interactions in a mouse study. The report
is in the August 10th issue of Cell. Now, besides the reduction in
melatonin production (that itself results from increased light
exposure) causing increases in LH production it also causes increases
in FSH production. FSH is under study for causing bone loss. I find
myself wondering if the body then works extra hard at replacing that
bone, with resulting higher levels of circulating osteocalcin. Should
that be so then it might play a part in the two problems of adrenal
disease and low blood sugar being seen together.

Well, of course, the thing is to know what the titer results look like
and then what those actually mean FOR FERRETS. It might be that they
can have fewer CDV vaccines. Heck, it might eventually be that they can
have fewer rabies vaccines BUT the research is needed.

Going at it willy nilly invites infection and both of those diseases
are a lot worse than anyone who has never encountered them could
suppose.

Only having both parts of the studies done will tell what is safe.

Those who care about the topic should participate in the study by going
here:

http://www.ferret.org/news/07-april-titer_study.shtm

I recall that for the rabies vaccine it is something like 5 in every
100 it doesn't work for ferrets according to the documents from when
the vaccine was approved for use in ferrets. The CDV vax failure rate I
don't know, but it will vary by age and other factors

Maternal antibodies, improper storage, vaccine too old, receiving
animal being sick or immune compromised, taking some antibiotics, even
Vitamin E deficiency, etc. could all damage response to a vaccine.
Alexandra found a GREAT page on the topic of "vaccine failure". It is
for dogs but holds for other species. For some reason I can't locate
it right now, but here are others:

http://www.peteducation.com/article.cfm?cls=2&cat=1648&articleid=966

http://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/articlerender.fcgi?artid=1680307

Ah, here is the site within which Alexandra found that find write-up
so you can search the site:

http://www.sniksnak.com/

The norm in abstracts I encounter involve research that is independent.
When it isn't they have to list who the sponsors were.

Have you ever been around an animal with either Canine Distemper or
Rabies (esp. the violent version), and seen the changes that happen in
them as their brains are damaged by the diseases reproducing in there?
It's the sort of horror that stays with a person forever.

Any wrote:
>There are enough studies with people, cats and dogs that show that
>annual vaccination is not necessary and is harmful.

NOPE. Sorry, but how well and for how long vaccines work VARIES NOT
ONLY AMONG DISEASES AND AMONG VACCINES BUT ALSO AMONG SPECIES. That
is why one of the rabies vaccines which was tested for use in ferrets
because it worked so well and so long in dogs wound up providing ONLY
6 months of protection when challenge studies were done. It is also
why another one wound up causing serious damage to the ferrets (the
survivors of which vaccine were then adopted by one of the testing vets
so that they could live out loved lives with extra care). Generalizing
can sometimes cause really dangerous situations. Generalizing about
vaccines is one of the cases.

Sukie (not a vet)

Recommended ferret health links:
http://pets.groups.yahoo.com/group/ferrethealth/
http://ferrethealth.org/archive/
http://www.afip.org/ferrets/index.html
http://www.miamiferret.org/fhc/
http://www.ferretcongress.org/
http://www.trifl.org/index.shtml
http://homepage.mac.com/sukie/sukiesferretlinks.html

[Posted in FML 5705]