Ed Fitler <[log in to unmask]> wrote: >Now, for the decision do I or, don't I ???? I don't want this to >turn into a flaming or slandering topic. But, after what I have seen >today. I will definitely give second thoughts to distemper vaccination. >I will let you all know the result in the next day or two. First off -- I hope that little Deja Vu comes through all right. I know the horror of severe vaccine reactions first-hand, too. At that time, there was only one USDA-approved distemper vaccine for ferrets -- Fervac-D. So it was a great dilemma: Do I or don't I? The ferret who reacted, Knuks, was one of our dearest babies. A tiny dark-eyed white who loved *everyone*. She had Eric thoroughly wrapped around her little paw. But I still couldn't see not vaccinating her the following year -- she went to shows and education days (she was our *best* education ferret -- 100% baby-safe), and there was too much of a risk for exposure to CDV. The following year, we pre-treated her and stayed at the vet's for about an hour and a half. There was no reaction. HOWEVER -- now you have a choice! Merial's Purevax CDV vaccine is also approved for use in ferrets by the USDA. So, before you withhold vaccinations for this little baby, you owe it to her to use a different vaccine (or, if you used the Merial vaccine this time, try the Fervac -- or even use Galaxy-D, not USDA-approved, but widely used in ferrets for a good number of years now). There are options other than simply not vaccinating. Watching a ferret endure a severe vaccine reaction is heart-wrenching. Our Knuks's skin turned brick-red and she had bloody diarrhea -- the whole nine yards. When our vet finally pulled her out of it (she started coming around about an hour and a half later), all she wanted to do was be held. She went home with the vet that night. I've never seen a ferret with distemper, though I know several FMLers have. I can't imagine watching a ferret suffering from that is any better than watching a vaccine reaction. I suspect it's worse because at least with a vaccine reaction, the ferret has a chance to recover. There's no surviving distemper. --Mary & the Fuzzies ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ Mary R. Shefferman, Editor, Modern Ferret Magazine Trixie, Koosh, & Gabby, The Modern Ferrets Read my blog -- http://www.modernferretblog.com/mary [Posted in FML issue 4115]