>From:    Kim Hastings <[log in to unmask]>
>Subject: Cleaning keyboards/distemper series/who to call about rabies
 
>>From:    Patricia Curtis <[log in to unmask]>
>>For ferrets that have not had an appropriate series or that you are unsure
>>of their vaccinations ... I would recommend vaccinating hem 3 times with
>>Galaxy-D (giving a single vaccination at two week intervals until the
>>series of 3 is completed), then a booster 6 months after the third shot,
>>and then annually thereafter.  ...
 
>Trish, it seems like I've read dozens of times that an adult fert with
>unknown vaccination history needs two distemper shots, four weeks apart,
>then annual boosters.
 
Aha.  A question I can actually answer.  You are both right.  My vet gave me
the same info as you, Kim, with an explanation.
 
A ferret's first distemper vaccination is given at six weeks, then two more
at two week intervals.  Adult ferrets are given two vaccinations three to
four weeks apart.  Why the discrepancy?  Baby ferrets receive antibodies in
their mother's milk which pass through the gut wall and into the
bloodstream.  When challenged with a vaccine, it is not the kit's immune
system that responds, but the MOTHER'S.  So, for example, if the mother is
already vaccinated against distemper, baby is getting distemper antibodies
every time he eats.  When he receives the six week vaccine, it is possible
that his own immune system will not respond because mom is taking care of it
for him.  The next one at eight weeks is good.  [out of academic interest,
mom protects baby from many other illnesses by manufacturing antibodies to
illnesses as they appear and quickly handing them off to Jr.  Hence, the
munchkin will frequently get only a mild version of the killer Tibetan swine
flu.]
 
An adult ferret is not nursing for his first vaccine in the series, so he
only needs two.
 
Then why is the first shot necessary at six weeks?  Ah, grasshopper, you
have much to learn.  We cannot guarantee that the six week kit is protected
by his mother's distemper vaccination, just as we cannot guarantee that that
first vaccination will "take." Since six weekers are often being shipped off
to pet stores, it is only prudent to give them that vacc just in case.
 
Our vet has not said anything about a six month booster.
 
Happy Ferretting,
Catherine
[Posted in FML issue 1937]