To LT Petty:
 
        Re: Rabies vaccination in ferrets:
 
        Your vet is right on some things, wrong on others.  The only approved
rabies vaccine for ferrets, Imrab, has been extensively tested on ferrets and is
safe and efficacious.  It is a killed vaccine, and needs to be, as live virus
have occasionally reverted to a pathogenic strain when injected into various
mustelids, more commonly skunks, causing rabies and exposure to other animals
around them and their owners.
 
        It is true that in most states, ferrets that bite humans will be killed
and tested for rabies whether they have been vaccinated or not.  Ferrets are
considered by most states to be wild animals (I don't agree with 'em, I just
explain 'em), and as such, there is no set quarantine period for them and rabies
can take up to a year to develop.
 
        Ferrets are generally vaccinated for the first time around 16 weeks - so
its time go to the vet!!!
 
 
Dr. Bruce Williams, DVM, DACVP
[log in to unmask]  202 576-2454
 
[Posted in FML issue 0591]