>We adopted a puppy who after a month had to be put to sleep because of
>distemper.  My ferrets had had their shots, but two of them came down
>with a runny nose and thickening on the pads of feet and on the ears.
>Both signs of distemper.  After a 2 month stay at the vet with antibiotic
>injections and daily care.  My older ferret died.  The 9 month old came
>home better but without much use of his back legs.  He is getting better
>but we still dont know what he had(has?).  Does anyone have any ideas.
 
Unfortunately, with the exposure to distemper, and the nasal discharge
and pad thickening, distemper still has to be at the top of the list.  Not
every ferret reads the textbook, but until distemper has been definitively
ruled out, he poses a risk to any ferret he comes in contact with.  Being
vaccinated is good, but there are instances in which vaccination does not
result in a sufficient titer to protect against clinical signs.  A ferret
who is less than a year old and had the requisite number of boosters is
probably in better shape than an older one, but no guarantees.
 
One possibility is to check biopsies from both of the affected areas for
viral inclusions.  I have done this before on other ferrets and was able
to identify the disease.  In some cases, even normal skin from a ferret
with distemper has evidence of viral infection.
 
If you would like, I'd be happy to look at the biopsies at no charge - it
may give us a diagnosis.
 
With kindest regards,
Bruce Williams, dVM
[Posted in FML issue 3459]