I just sent the following to Dr. Jerry Depoyster of the USDA.  I don't
know if there is anything they can do to help, but Dr. Depoyster has
been sympathetic to the ferret community over other issues.
 
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Dr. Depoyster
I am writing you for advice on what the ferret community can do about
a situation that has arisen.  You may be aware that earlier this year,
United Vaccines was sold, and production of Fervac, for a long time the
only USDA approved canine distemper vaccine for ferrets, was halted.
 
Fortunately, a few years ago a second vaccine was approved: Purevax
from Merial.  Unfortunately, Merial only produces Purevax for part of
the year.  They have currently shut down production for the year and
do not plan to resume until early next year.
 
Galaxy D from Schering Plough has long been used by many ferret shelters
and even some vets, but it was never testing for official USDA approval.
 
This leaves the situation where there is NO USDA APPROVED VACCINE
available to vets, ferret owners and ferret shelter operators, a
potentially dangerous situation.  Canine distemper is virtually 100%
fatal in ferrets, and can spread quickly through an unprotected
population.
 
Can you give us any advice on how to deal with this situation?  Is there
anything the USDA can do to require the vaccine manufacturers to produce
a steady supply of approved vaccine?
 
Your help in this matter would be greatly appreciated.
 
Linda Iroff
International Ferret Congress
http://www.ferretcongress.org
[Posted in FML issue 5348]