>Date:    Wed, 14 May 1997 05:33:00 -0500
>From:    Bob Church <[log in to unmask]>
>Subject: Bob C: Horrible Disease
 
Excellent, excellent post Bob!!!  Thank you for addressing this issue in
such a way as to get folks to sit up and take notice and realize the
seriousness of this awful disease.  Unfortuantely, I have personally watched
two ferrets die of this, it is an awful thing.
 
Another important point is that the Distemper vaccinations MUST be done in
the proper series with precise timing for the ferrets to be protected.  You
can't get the first shot when they're 8 weeks old, the second when they're 4
or 6 months old and skip the last and think they're protected just because
you get the annual boosters.  The boosters are of little help if the initial
series is not done properly, because it is the initial series that
builds/creates the immunity in the first place.  For ferrets that have not
had an appropriate series or that you are unsure of their vaccinations, it
is best to be safe.  I would recommend vaccinating them 3 times with
Galaxy-D (giving a single vaccination at two week intervals until the series
of 3 is completed), then a booster 6 months after the third shot, and then
annually thereafter.  Then you can sleep at night!!
 
Trish
Director, Ferrets First Rescue & Shelter
[Posted in FML issue 1935]