Disclaimer: The following information applys to the USA; I don't know what
the availability of rabies vaccines using a modified live virus in other
countries is.
 
Pat Wright and I have exchanged a few emails since my post; he said his
information is a few years old.
 
In an attempt to have the safety of rabies vaccines confirmed, I called
Merial Wednesday and spoke with one of their technicians.  She said Imrab
3 is made with a killed virus and there is NO chance, none, zero, zilch,
*none* that it can cause the disease.  She faxed me the insert information
for Imrab 3 also.  So certainly using the correct vaccine is safe.
 
Pat's concern, however, was regarding the possible use of the *wrong*
vaccine.  I said yesterday that all the rabies vaccines in use were safe,
but since his info was from the Center for Disease Control, I felt it would
be prudent to get another opinion on this.
 
I called the NY Rabies Lab today (Thursday).  (http://www.wadsworth.org)
Charles Trimarchi, the center's director is out on vacation for a week, so
I spoke with Bob Rudd, the assistant director.  (BTW, Charles is no mere
pencil pusher, he does research and stuff.  I have a few of his papers on
bat rabies.  I suspect the same is true of Bob.) When I asked if it was
possible for an animal to get rabies from any of the vaccines currently in
use, Bob said "Absolutely NOT!!" (Emphasis his.) The vaccines in use today
are all inactivated.
 
Both Bob Rudd and the technician I spoke with at Merial said it's not a low
risk situation; it's a NO risk situation.
 
Bob said there are *no* rabies vaccines that he knows of being manufactured
today in the USA capable of causing the disease.  It is illegal for a
veterinarian in the USA to use a rabies vaccine which is not FDA approved.
The only way a vet here could use a modified live vaccine would be to
import it illegally (his words).
 
I asked him how long it has been since there has been a rabies vaccine
available in the USA  based on a modified live virus which *could* cause
the disease.  He said "At *least* five years."
 
He further confirmed that the vaccine used in state wildlife rabies control
programs is tightly controlled.  And that regular vets can't get it, but
even if one *did* give it to your ferret, it's not capable of causing the
disease.  (It's an oral vaccine for drop baits BTW, not an injectable, and
it's made by Merial, (formerly Rhone-Merieux), who also make Imrab 3.  The
vaccine used for wildlife control is a recombinant DNA vaccine; while it
contains bits of virus genetic code, it cannot cause the disease.)
 
Bottom line: Using the wrong rabies vaccine may decrease the likelihood
that your ferrret will be protected against the disease.  It may increase
the possibility of an adverse reaction.  It will NOT cause the disease.  As
I said yesterday, if you want assurance that the correct vaccine (Imrab 3)
is being used, just ask the vet ahead of time and/or insist on seeing the
actual vial.
 
If anyone wants the phone# for Merial or Wadsworth, please email me
privately.
 
-Ilena Ayala
[Posted in FML issue 2757]