Dear Mark:
 
>Another question I have is about vaccine reactions, Charlie and Kira
>both got their annual check up and shots yesterday, but they both had
>anaphylactic reactions to the shots. :(   I have been doing a lot of
>reading the last 24hrs on reactions and am seeing that may be I should
>have had the fervacD and imrab3 injections done at different times(2 weeks
>or more apart)...is this most peoples experience?  Also I read that giving
>100 IU of vitamin E a couple of days before the shots can help reduce the
>reaction?  Has anyone tried this and does it help?
 
Now that's bad luck - both at once.  Hopefully, your vet had told you to
stay in the office for 30 muinutes after the vaccinations.  That's the
single most important way to combat anaphylactic reactions - to get to
them quickly.
 
We're not exactly sure why ferrets react to Fervac-D so often - but it is
currently the number one cause of reactions.  However, reactions have been
reported occasionally with Imrab as well.  The practice of administering
the two vaccines at different times does appear to lessen the occurrence
of reactions, as ferrets appear to be unusually susceptible to the protein
load in vaccines.
 
Regarding Vit E - I have not heard that this particular treatment lessens
the chance of reaction, and probably does not ameliorate the reaction after
it has occurred.  A better preventative would be Benadryl - as histamine is
released during anaphylaxis, and mediates most of the reaction including
airway constriction and blood vessel leakage, an antihistamine like
Benadryl (2 mg 10 minutes prior) is at least a logical step.  However, in
some cases, even antihistamine pretreatment is not sufficient to prevent
reaction.
 
With kindest regards,
Bruce Williams, DVM
[Posted in FML issue 3199]