Chris wrote:
>If a lot of ferrets suffer bad reactions to their vaccinations surely
>these vaccinations are doing ferrets long term health damage.  I read on
>a mink farm site that they only vaccinated their breeding stock against
>distemper every 3 years.  Has there been any research into how long the
>protection from a distemper vaccination lasts in ferrets.
 
Well, that is something we've had to ask about not only for ferrets but
for human family and for ourselves, and we have been repeatedly told
(including by cardiologists when we heard the heart damage hypothesis)
that there has not been evidence of the reactions or their treatments
causing damage.  BTW, I've had something like 6 anaphylactic reactions
myself in the last two years so the considerations about this from what
is known from human health studies is something I'd have had timely
updates upon if something worse than already known were found, and I'd
be willing to generalize such considerations to the ferrets if something
new were mentioned.
 
Remember, too, that on the FML we are talking about maybe 15,000 living
ferrets or more represented (estimate based on discussions of numbers of
ferrets and on shelters being present), and that many FML members have
had ferrets in their families for 10 or more years so memories discussed
can involve animals who aren't around anymore.  In our case we've had
ferrets in the family for almost 21 and 1/2 years now and over the years
we have had I think 4 ferrets who had reactions to one or more types of
vaccines (while none of our current crew reacts).  Those reactions
happened with Fervac D, with Galaxy, and for two who were related to each
other to Imrab 3 (remembering that what an individual is allergic to and
how likely an individual is to have allergies often are affected by
inheritance).  We've never had a reaction with Purevax, and vet reports
indicate something like 1/10th the rate of reactions of Fervac.  There
can be counter-examples as one shelter had one day, but that 1/10 is
something I've heard a lot from vets so I suspect that it may hold well
in a large study of rates.  What I am saying is that often reports on
the FML sound like something is rampant when it isn't.
 
I agree that it would be wonderful to know if the vaccines could last
longer and which ones do.  I think the example of the local ferrets in
our local area year ago who responded so badly to exposure to canine
distemper after not being for 2 or 3 years show that the immune system
education from whichever vax they had didn't last beyond one or two years
in strong enough form.  Sorry, but I do not know which vax was used or
if it was 2 or 3 years before.  Remember that while titers can be done
it remains unknown what titer levels actually do indicate effective
protection for ferrets.  The way that will be known for sure will be
to vaccinate a number of ferrets, regularly take titers and then do a
challenge of the disease in question, realizing that when infection is
contracted the vaccines aren't working (ferret deaths).  So, it would
mean deaths of ferrets and it would mean a large amount of money.  No
pharmaceutical company is going to spend money on something which would
decrease income so it would need to be an independent study done with
money from either a grant (which usually means contributions funding the
grant) or from direct contributions, or both.
 
Gary wrote:
>A friend, who's ferret had a strong reaction within one minute of
>getting the shot, told of the vet wasting precious seconds frantically
>flipping through a reference book...I don't mean that they should
>actually fill the syringe(s) with the antidotes, but it wouldn't hurt
>to have them sitting right there, just in case.
 
I agree.  Vets and physicians need to be ready for reactions in patients.
Jumping fast in the right way is essential.
 
Galaxy was never studied in ferrets per say.  Fervac was but I don't know
how intensely.  Purevax from Merial had both lab and then clinical trials
(which you can read about in the FML Archives
http://listserv.cuny.edu/archives/ferret-search.html with info pretty
much right from scratch since the FML community was very involved in that
development and in saving that new vaccine which almost got shelved).
Imrab 3 was one of several rabies vaccines tried in ferrets.  One which
works great in some other animals had immunity which lasted only 6 months
in ferrets, one caused damage to the ferrets (who were then adopted by a
vet involved in that part of testing -- I know because one made it to
over 10 years of age with consistent care and Judi mourned losing him,
the last of that grouping), Imrab 3 worked and later met USDA needs for
protection.  Titer levels knowledge and long lasting data remain unknown
in ferrets and neither titer levels nor time effective should be
generalized from any other animals because that can NOT be done with
accuracy (see above paragraphs).
 
Reaction care costs: we've had some vets who absorb the costs (reflected
in other costs) and others who charge when reactions happen.  Most vets
we have encountered charge for it.  Allergies are very hard to work
around and that is what is at the base of vaccine reactions: allergies
the ferrets have.  It is possible to reduce the types and amounts of
compounds which are more likely to be allergenic but anything at all can
cause an allergy in someone: common foods, beautiful scents, vaccines,
antibiotics, companion animals, the waste of dust mites, fungal spores,
pollen, etc.
[Posted in FML issue 4311]