Non USDA Approved Vaccine Information
 
FROMM-D/GALAXY-D
FROMM-D, a live-virus monovalent distemper vaccine manufactured by Solvay
(Mendota Heights, MN), is no longer being sold in the United States.
FROMM-D, which had been licensed for use only in dogs, was based on a chick
embryo substrate and had a long history of safe use in ferrets prior to
the licensing of a vaccine by U.S.D.A.  Recently, however, the vaccine
was reformulated using a mammalian (simian) cell substrate.  FROMM-D is
no longer available, and the new product is currently being marketed as
"GALAXY- D." At this time the product FERVAC-D (United Vaccines, Inc.,
Madison, WI) is the only U.S.D.A. approved distemper vaccine product
labeled for use in ferrets.  FERVAC-D, which is a modified-live vaccine,
has been tested in ferrets and has been shown to be both safe and effective
in preventing distemper virus infection in ferrets.  At this time, the new
Solvay vaccine product has not demonstrated either safety or efficacy in
preventing distemper in ferrets.
 
RECOMMENDATION: GALAXY-D (Solvay) should not be used to immunize ferrets
against distemper virus.  Until such time that the manufacturer conducts
appropriate studies of safety and efficacy of this vaccine in ferrets,
only the currently marketed vaccine, FERVAC- D labeled for use in ferrets
should be used.
 
Randy
[Posted in FML issue 3458]