>I have heard that Imrab 3 has been pulled from the market for ferrets.
>I don't know why and I don't know for how long. Can anyone tell me
>what is going on? This is of particular importance to me because I
>plan to move out of the country in the spring and the one thing my
>ferrets need to accompany me is their rabies inoculation.

Imrab 3? Did you check with Merial? That rabies vaccine is used by many
vets for many animals; in fact, some places claim that it is the most
common one world-wide.

There is no such announcement in their press page:
http://us.merial.com/pressroom/index.asp

It is possible that some confusion has resulted.

Fervac D, which had a much higher rate of reactions is the CDV vax that
has been pulled. That is said to be because United is trimming down for
resale.

Since then I have heard that Fervac D announcement altered and claimed
for both Purevax D and for Galaxy D. (In the case of Purevax it is made
on a manufacturing line that is used from several other vaccines so it
is made only part of the year.)

Yes, the Pediapred you are using can cause fur thinning if it is used
very long term, or in large amounts, or both. Still, it pays to
consider that an adrenal growth may be present. The TN Panel is perfect
for questionable situations except that it does not spot all of the
early cases of adrenal growths.

Beta hemolytic E. coli is real NASTY. It's one of the bacteria that raw
meats can spread, and it can get on vegetation from sewage run- off,
including animal sewage. The "hemolytic" in the name indicates that
bleeding occurs from red cell breakdown.

Here is an article from 2004:

http://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/articlerender.fcgi?artid=535218

also referred to here:

http://lib.bioinfo.pl/auth:Marini,RP

Like your vet says, it could have already been present but took off.
In bacteriology there is an exciting new area called "Quorum
Communication". It seems that bacteria can monitor not only how many of
their own species are locally present but also what other bacteria
(which might oppose their actions or reproduction) are also present.
Select from the menu on your left for :
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/sciencenow/

There is also some recent work (I think that I carried the link (either
a press release or an abstract) to the FML and FHL on how some acid
reducers can set the stage for bacteria which would normally be killed
by the stomach to reach the intestines where they can take off. Ferrets
don't have as pronounced a normal intestinal flora as many other
species, and if what should have been there wasn't enough then a
bloom could occur. Ah, here you are:
http://ferrethealth.org/archive/SG18507

Here is some work from last year on a protein the intestine uses to
protect itself from infection (and mentions the importance of bile
for preventing infection):

http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2006-02/usmc-gpf020306.php

Sukie (not a vet)
Current FHL address:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ferrethealth
People can join there or can send a blank mail to the automated
joining address:
[log in to unmask]
and then follow the directions.
(The second is recommended for those having problems with Yahoogroups
web settings, and afterward send a blank mail from your subscribed
address to
[log in to unmask]
to get the digest instead of individual mails. )
Recommended ferret health links:
http://pets.groups.yahoo.com/group/ferrethealth/
http://ferrethealth.org/archive/
http://www.afip.org/ferrets/index.html
http://www.miamiferret.org/fhc/
http://www.ferretcongress.org/

[Posted in FML 5484]