Some confusion appears to have arisen over several statements I made in
reporting results of the updated ACME/STAR survey on ferret reactions to
distemper vaccines. I'll try to clear these up.
 
>Serious reactions are more than 8 times as likely to occur with FERVAC-D,
>the only USDA-approved vaccine for ferrets, than with FROMM-D or its
>successor GALAXY-D,
 
The specific figures are as follows:
Fervac-D: 868 vaccinated, 31 major reactions reported. Incidence of 3.57%.
Fromm-D:  483 vaccinated, 2 major reactions reported. Incidence of 0.41%.
Galaxy-D: 476 vaccinated, 2 major reactions reported. Incidence of 0.42%.
 
Comparing these percentages, major reactions were reported with Fervac 8.7
times as often as  Fromm-D, and 8.5 times as often as Galaxy-D.  The
percentages are all small, true. But Fervac-D's small percentages happen to
be 8 times as high as the small percentages for Fromm-D and Galaxy-D.)
 
Major reactions were taken to include vomiting, diarrhea (including bloody
stools), convulsions, death, or subsequent contracting of distemper.
 
We treated stinging, itching, squealing or unusual lethargy as "minor
reactions".  I am aware that Roger Brady, the main spokesman for United
Vaccines, denies those symptoms the status of "reactions."  So what are
they--chopped liver?
 
People whose ferrets screamed in pain when the vaccine was injected have
reported those reactions.  If my ferret screamed in pain, I would report
that myself.  Despite Brady's semantic acrobatics, United took enough of a
pasting with the ferret-owning public about it that they twice altered the
product to try to eliminate it.  Perhaps United Still has a public
acceptance problem.  Perhaps that's why Brady refused to estimate what
percentage of ferret owners are using his product.
 
>The most serious problems--seizures, death, or post-injection contracting
>of distemper--were rare (0.49%), being reported in only 9 cases (5
>FERVAC-D, 2 FROMM-D, and 2 GALAXY-D).
 
The MOST serious problems-those that are incontestably
life-threatening--were treated as a subset of ALL serious problems.  The
data breakdown was as follows:
 
      Vomiting/Diarrhea   Seizures    Distemper    Death (anaphyl)   Total
        &bloody stool
Fervac        26              2           1                2           31
Fromm          0              2           0                0            2
Galaxy         0              2           0                0            2
 
The total of serious reactions was 35 incidents. Of these, the *most*
serious, i.e. directly life-threatening, amounted to 9 incidents or 0.49% of
all cases reported.  When all serious reactions are considered, (31 vs 2 vs
2), and the number of injectees factored for, serious reactions were more
than 8 times as likely with Fervac.
 
Taking only the most extreme life-threatening reactions, the scores are less
divergent: Fervac 5, Fromm 2, and Galaxy 2 (incidence percentages of 0.5%,
0.4%, and 0.4%), and not statistically significant . But the difference on
vomiting, diarrhea and bloody stool (26 vs 0 vs 0) is so obvious that even a
trained mathematician should grasp it.
 
It is possible that folks whose ferrets had a bad reaction to one or another
vaccine might be more motivated to participate in the survey than those who
had never had a reaction.  However, there's no reason to believe such a bias
would cause more people with reactions from Fervac to report than people
with reactions from Galaxy-D.
 
My intent is to inform people, not to scare.  For some folks, the added risk
factor that Fervac-D apparently presents will make a difference. For other
people, it may not.
 
It should be noted, however, that even Fervac's most ardent defenders are
becoming more cautious.  There have been more than a few reports of ferrets
contracting distemper after being vaccinated with Fervac-D, etiology as yet
unknown.  Brady himself told the Independent Voice only that "we don't have
any FIRM EVIDENCE [emphasis mine] that ferrets properly vaccinated with
Fervac-D have contracted distemper."  Some defense. (A full story on the
distemper outbreaks, from the current Voice, is up on the Ferret News Kiosk
(http://members.gnn.com/AcmeFerret/news.htm).
 
The AFA-sponsored American Ferret Report, in an article in its Jan-Feb issue
on an outbreak of 16 ferrets that came down with canine distemper in South
Carolina noted that "all of the infected ferrets were apparently up to date
on vaccinations with the currently licensed product, Fervac-D." In an
editorial note at the end, this editor's note was appended: "AT THIS POINT
IN TIME [emphasis mine], the American Ferret Association continues to
recommend the routine vaccination of all ferrets with Fervac-D." Do I detect
wiggle-room, or what?
[Posted in FML issue 1534]