I figure people here are smart enough to have read and understood the
precautions which have been given already, so an not repeating what
others have written, nor what I recall writing recently.
Knowledge is empowering for all and a heck of a lot more reliable than
opinions that lack foundation.
Seasonal considerations involve how much the disease is shared at
different times of the year (for example raccoons are far, far more
prone to have communal denning in winter), how much wild vector animals
move around leaving their droppings, and how fast the viral fatty
envelope is destroyed.
fatty viral envelope:
You can find a lot on this topic, but this will give some essential
info on how to disrupt the fatty envelope and destroy the virus
outside the body:
http://www.marvistavet.com/html/body_canine_distemper.html
>Because an intact fatty envelope is required for infection, virus
>transmission must involve dog to dog contact or at least contact with
>extremely fresh (less than 30 minutes old at 60 degrees and up to 3
>hours old at room temperature) infected body secretions. As with other
>viruses, living virus happily freezes and can survive for years if
>kept frozen and protected from light. Routine disinfection and
>cleaning readily kills the distemper virus in the kennel setting.
Other ways to protect ferrets who may have had insufficient vaccination
(use of an unproven vaccine, or a serious illness or treatment for that
illness that prevents titers levels reaching decent levels, or who have
had no vaccination in a reasonable timeframe, or who lack the full kit
series of vaccine and enough boosters, or who lack the adult equivalent
foundation to replace the missing kit series using 2 spaced
vaccinations later which is the protective level that has been STRONGLY
urged by vets after 2011 shelter CD infections *****and which those
vets say appears to be among the most important lessons for shelters
to remember*****):
1. Leave your shoes where they can not be gotten and do not use them in
your home or shelter: you can bring in infected fecal matter which can
stay moist on your footwear
2. Do not let those unvaccinated, undervaccinated, or otherwise
vulnerable ferrets wander outside of have access to potentially
infectious material from outside.
3. Do not bring in anyone, any animal, or anything which may be
infected or carry the infection.
4. Quarantine
5. Maintain sufficient Vitamin A levels:
http://jn.nutrition.org/content/137/8/1916.long
BEGIN QUOTE
J Nutr. 2007 Aug;137(8):1916-22.
J Nutr. 2007 Aug;137(8):1916-22.
Disease manifestations of canine distemper virus infection in ferrets
are modulated by vitamin A status.
Rodeheffer C, von Messling V, Milot S, Lepine F, Manges AR, Ward BJ.
McGill University Health Centre Research Institute, Faculty of
Medicine, Division of Infectious Diseases, Montreal General Hospital,
Montreal, QC, Canada.
The measles virus (MV) causes half a million childhood deaths annually.
Vitamin A supplements significantly reduce measles-associated mortality
and morbidity. The mechanisms whereby vitamin A acts against MV are not
understood and currently there is no satisfactory small animal model
for MV infection. We report on the development of a ferret model to
study antiviral activity of vitamin A against canine distemper virus
(CDV). CDV is closely related to MV at the molecular level and
distemper in ferrets mimics measles in humans. We infected vitamin
A-replete (control) and vitamin A-depleted ferrets with CDV and
assessed the ability of high-dose vitamin A supplements to influence
CDV disease. In control ferrets, CDV infection caused fever, rash,
conjunctivitis, cough, coryza, and diarrhea. In contrast, control
ferrets that were given 30 mg of vitamin A did not develop typical
distemper after infection and exhibited only a mild rash. The
supplement did not negatively affect ferret health and resulted in a
100% increase in serum and liver vitamin A concentrations. We also
found that profound vitamin A deficiency is inducible in ferrets and
can be rapidly reversed upon high-dose vitamin A supplementation.
Vitamin A deficiency caused anorexia, diarrhea, cataracts, behavioral
abnormalities, and ultimately death, with or without CDV infection.
All ferrets that received vitamin A supplements, however, recovered
uneventfully from CDV infection. These results replicate many aspects
of the observations of vitamin A therapy in humans with measles and
suggest that CDV infection in ferrets is an appropriate model for the
study of the antiviral mechanism of vitamin A.
END QUOTE
(Ferrets are descended from long lines of species that ate full animals
including livers so handle high levels of Vitamin A far better than
humans, but also are descended from long lines of burrow dwellers who
are most active at dawn and dusk, which is called crepuscular activity,
so handle far lower levels of Vitamin D than diurnal species like us
and get sick from too much D.)
6. Have shelter workers have effective measles vaccines onboard or have
them have previously had measles: I am trying to find a study mentioned
in one of the paragraphs on this topic,and may have to send later IF I
even have time to also look for that resource later, but found these
for you:
http://m.extension.illinois.edu/wildlife/health_diseases.cfm
includes
>The risk of Canine distemper to humans is low, with transmission
>more likely to occur from domestic dogs than from wild carnivores,
>but people should avoid contact with infected wild animals.
Measles and Canine Distemper are closely related.
http://www.marvistavet.com/html/body_canine_distemper.html
includes
>Humans can get infected with the virus meaning the virus seems able
>to replicate in the human body but no illness results. At one time,
>multiple sclerosis was thought to be associated with exposure to
>the canine distemper virus but further research suggests that it
>is actually the human measles virus (a close relative of canine
>distemper) that may be the culprit. It does not appear that there
>is any human hazard in the canine distemper virus.
(There is still some research going on about a possible link to MS but
I don't have time to read the studies though I included just a couple
of links lower in this in case someone here finds it interesting.)
Yes, that humans can contract CDV short-term IS a strange one for you:
a while back (and I'd have to search to find them but do not have time
now) there were studies indicating that even though people can not
themselves get Canine Distemper disease symptoms there IS a subset of
people who can carry the virus before it "realizes" that it can't take
hold and dies off. Those are people who have not had measles or who do
not have a still effective measles vaccine (sufficient titer levels) in
their own bodies. Weird, huh? Hopefully today's responsibilities will
give me time to dig that out again for you. I found it originally when
gathering info for one of the several shelters to have CDV in 2011 but
I seem to have goofed and not saved a copy for myself.
Record keeping is done only on animals for whom a vaccine is approved
and licensed: So, don't expect to find any compiled records on meds
that are used off-label including for different species.
How allergic reactions occur and why a first vaccination or even the
few first ones in any animal typically will NOT cause an allergic
reaction and is not a predictor of future reactions: Allergies are
almost always to things for which the individual has had a LOT of
exposures. That is why the more common grain allergy in southern China
is rice but in northern China it is wheat, because those are the grains
more commonly eaten in those regions, and it also is why favorite foods
are more likely to become ones to which an individual has allergies,
or why some allergy groupings occur in many individuals like related
foods, or latex and bananas, or iodine and crustaceans.
When an allergic reaction occurs without previous exposure to the exact
same med it usually means there is something in the medium used to
transport it to which the individual has had exposures, or that the
individual is especially prone to cross-reactivity with allergies.
Allergies to medications develop when a portion of the immune system
misidentifies a medication (or other allergen) as an invader. Do NOT
expect symptoms to happen that time, because usually the reaction
occurs the NEXT time.
How to treat an anaphylactic reaction: The primary medication is
EPINEPHREN when a severe allergic reaction occurs. Other approaches
may be used in conjunction, such as steroids, antihistamines, fluids,
oxygen, etc. That is the same for ferrets as it is for humans.
Most individuals who have anaphylactic reactions and get rapid enough
treatment LIVE without problems resulting, though not all do, and
delayed treatment can result in damage which includes brain damage.
That is the same for both humans and ferrets.
The need for rapid response is why waiting at the vet hospital after
vaccinations is logical, ditto at your allergist after an allergy
shot especially if you are prone to anaphylactic reactions as I am.
(Sublingual immunotherapy seems to not have that same risk factor for
people though life always has its exceptions.)
Do NOT confuse feeling ill for a while after a vaccine with an allergic
response. Feeling ill actually often means that the immune system is
responding in a useful way for becoming educated.
The importance of doing titers:
Having titers done not only tells you when an animal is still
protected, but it may also be that ones running very high titer levels
may be more prone to having anaphylactic reactions, so when the levels
are high enough vaccination can be skipped. Due to one of the two first
stage CDV studies (the one in which we participated) we found that we
had protected animals who were in the middle, two who ran incredibly
high titer levels over the years they were tested, and one who always
needed the vaccine every year. Challenge studies have not been done on
ferrets (as far as I know) to compare to titer numbers so usually what
is considered protected is higher than what is considered protected for
dogs just to be safest.
Once enough is known on that score two things can maybe become
possible:
1. It may be that the vaccines can be given much less often in most
adult ferrets. OR
2. It may be that a weaker vaccine might work for protection while
reducing the risk of reactions, but it might not because levels that
are too low might not educate the immune system in the first place.
Other animals able to use Purevax include a number of wild animals that
a person does not usually think of in terms of CD infection such as
lions, tigers, and a number of other large cats, seals, lesser pandas,
etc. In fact, when the FML members helped get Purevax released part of
the encouragement to do so was from zoos and conservation programs
wanting to protect animals. More on that is closer to the end of this
post.
Some rather recent work is not known about by many people, so I am
including some abstracts:
BEGIN QUOTE
Vaccine. 2009 Aug 6;27(36):4961-6. Epub 2009 Jun 18.
A chimeric measles virus with canine distemper envelope protects
ferrets from lethal distemper challenge.
Rouxel RN, Svitek N, von Messling V.
Source
INRS-Institut Armand-Frappier, University of Quebec, 531,
boul. des Prairies, Laval, Quebec H7V 1B7, Canada.
PMID: 19540272 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]
END QUOTE
http://vir.sgmjournals.org/content/90/9/2157.long
BEGIN QUOTE
Lymphotropism and host responses during acute wild-type canine
distemper virus infections in a highly susceptible natural host
Line Nielsen, Mette Sogaard, Trine Hammer Jensen, Mads Klindt
Andersen, Bent Aasted and Merete Blixenkrone-Moller
Department of Veterinary Disease Biology, Faculty of Life Sciences,
University of Copenhagen, Stigbojlen 7, DK-1870 Frederiksberg C,
Denmark
Correspondence
Merete Blixenkrone-Moller
Received 30 January 2009.
Accepted 29 May 2009.
Abstract
The mechanisms behind the in vivo virulence of immunosuppressive
wild-type morbillivirus infections are still not fully understood. To
investigate lymphotropism and host responses, we have selected the
natural host model of canine distemper virus (CDV) infection in mink.
This model displays multisystemic infection, similar to measles virus
and rinderpest virus infections in their susceptible natural hosts.
The wild-type CDVs investigated provoked marked virulence differences,
inducing mild versus marked to severe acute disease. The mildly
virulent wild-type virus induced transient lymphopenia, despite the
development of massive infection of peripheral blood mononuclear cells
(PBMCs) exceeding that determined for the highly virulent wild-type
virus, indicating an inverse relationship between acute virulence and
the extent of viraemia in the investigated wild-type viruses.
Single-cell cytokine production in PBMCs was investigated throughout
the acute infections. We observed Th1- and Th2-type cytokine responses
beginning in the prodromal phase, and late inflammatory responses
were shared between the wild-type infections.
END QUOTE
If you are curious why some CDV strains are worse that others:
http://jvi.asm.org/content/82/21/10510.long
BEGIN QUOTE
Semin Neurol. 2011 Jul;31(3):307-16.
doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.1055/s-0031-1287656. Epub 2011 Sep 30.
Evidence for viral etiology of multiple sclerosis.
Tselis A.
Source
Department of Neurology, Wayne State University School of Medicine,
Detroit, Michigan 48201, USA. [log in to unmask]
Abstract
The etiology of multiple sclerosis (MS) is unknown, and several
hypotheses have been advanced over the past century to explain it.
Despite much effort, no single cause has been established. One of the
most appealing hypotheses is that of infection due to a neurotropic
infectious agent, possibly a virus. There are several lines of data
to support this hypothesis. First, there are clear examples of
inflammatory demyelinating disease caused directly or indirectly by
viral infections in both humansand animals. Second, there is a strong
environmental component to multiple sclerosis. Finally, there is
aberrant immune reactivity against various viruses. Recent candidates
have included measles and the related canine distemper virus, human
herpesvirus 6, human endogenous retroviruses, and Epstein-Barr virus.
The evidence is most extensive for the latter and will be discussed
in some detail.
(c) Thieme Medical Publishers.
PMID: 21964847 [PubMed - in process]
END QUOTE
plus others like
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17410634
though I find the wording in the abstract unclear in relation to humans
On why MODIFIED measles and distemper viruses are studied to help carry
destruction to malignancies:
http://www.translational-medicine.com/content/10/1/3/abstract
but there are a lot more studies on that topic
For those interested in how CDV wildlife vaccination can affect at
least one ecosystem:
<http://www.plosone.org/article/info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pone.0028671>
On how the Global problem with CDV is increasing and how it jumps
across species:
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/10/071025094914.htm
Finally,
*****I don't know anyone who has an economic interest in Merial
or in the Purevax product and we certainly don't either*****
plus I can't even figure out a decent reason why anyone would even say
such a thing about anyone who has given information, and have to wonder
if that was just poor wording.
Besides buying those vaccines from our veterinarians the only other
contact we had with Merial was being among those who urged them to
release Purevax when the research was done. Why was that needed? Well,
Merial was worried that ferret people might not care enough about their
ferrets to spend for the cost of a very proven vaccine. (It had BOTH
lab testing with titer work and then challenge work, and after that
also field testing which were at the company's expense as far as I
know -- though I did not check that -- before release and that adds
to cost but it also means the vaccine works.) So, ferret people played
a major role in getting Purevax released (though that company certainly
still does not do production runs of it as often as would be best),
and, yeah, I was a NAG toward Merial in that situation though a polite
nag. Here is an example of how the members of the FML helped get
Purevax released:
<http://listserv.ferretmailinglist.org/SCRIPTS/WA-FERRET.EXE?A2=ind0001&L=FERRET-SEARCH&P=R455>
For those few people who do not know who Dr. Bruce Williams is, he is
the veterinary pathologist who first propelled a very large portion of
the advances in ferret pathology/histology information, the inspiration
for those who used his work as a jumping off point and as proof that
people really DO care about ferret health. Now, there are a number of
excellent ferret pathologists and one group of them even has a very
extensive website to help all:
http://www.ferrethealth.msu.edu/
Yes, one inspiring, educated, and dedicated expert who actually
understands vet med has made a huge difference and there are other
examples among vets and vet groups, too.
Sukie (not a vet)
Recommended ferret health links:
http://pets.groups.yahoo.com/group/ferrethealth/
http://ferrethealth.org/archive/
http://www.miamiferret.org/
http://www.ferrethealth.msu.edu/
http://www.ferretcongress.org/
http://www.trifl.org/index.shtml
http://homepage.mac.com/sukie/sukiesferretlinks.html
all ferret topics:
http://listserv.ferretmailinglist.org/archives/ferret-search.html
"All hail the procrastinators for they shall rule the world tomorrow."
(2010, Steve Crandall)
On change for its own sake: "You can go really fast if you just jump
off the cliff." (2010, Steve Crandall)
[Posted in FML 7314]
|
