Chris wrote: >If a lot of ferrets suffer bad reactions to their vaccinations surely >these vaccinations are doing ferrets long term health damage. I read on >a mink farm site that they only vaccinated their breeding stock against >distemper every 3 years. Has there been any research into how long the >protection from a distemper vaccination lasts in ferrets. Well, that is something we've had to ask about not only for ferrets but for human family and for ourselves, and we have been repeatedly told (including by cardiologists when we heard the heart damage hypothesis) that there has not been evidence of the reactions or their treatments causing damage. BTW, I've had something like 6 anaphylactic reactions myself in the last two years so the considerations about this from what is known from human health studies is something I'd have had timely updates upon if something worse than already known were found, and I'd be willing to generalize such considerations to the ferrets if something new were mentioned. Remember, too, that on the FML we are talking about maybe 15,000 living ferrets or more represented (estimate based on discussions of numbers of ferrets and on shelters being present), and that many FML members have had ferrets in their families for 10 or more years so memories discussed can involve animals who aren't around anymore. In our case we've had ferrets in the family for almost 21 and 1/2 years now and over the years we have had I think 4 ferrets who had reactions to one or more types of vaccines (while none of our current crew reacts). Those reactions happened with Fervac D, with Galaxy, and for two who were related to each other to Imrab 3 (remembering that what an individual is allergic to and how likely an individual is to have allergies often are affected by inheritance). We've never had a reaction with Purevax, and vet reports indicate something like 1/10th the rate of reactions of Fervac. There can be counter-examples as one shelter had one day, but that 1/10 is something I've heard a lot from vets so I suspect that it may hold well in a large study of rates. What I am saying is that often reports on the FML sound like something is rampant when it isn't. I agree that it would be wonderful to know if the vaccines could last longer and which ones do. I think the example of the local ferrets in our local area year ago who responded so badly to exposure to canine distemper after not being for 2 or 3 years show that the immune system education from whichever vax they had didn't last beyond one or two years in strong enough form. Sorry, but I do not know which vax was used or if it was 2 or 3 years before. Remember that while titers can be done it remains unknown what titer levels actually do indicate effective protection for ferrets. The way that will be known for sure will be to vaccinate a number of ferrets, regularly take titers and then do a challenge of the disease in question, realizing that when infection is contracted the vaccines aren't working (ferret deaths). So, it would mean deaths of ferrets and it would mean a large amount of money. No pharmaceutical company is going to spend money on something which would decrease income so it would need to be an independent study done with money from either a grant (which usually means contributions funding the grant) or from direct contributions, or both. Gary wrote: >A friend, who's ferret had a strong reaction within one minute of >getting the shot, told of the vet wasting precious seconds frantically >flipping through a reference book...I don't mean that they should >actually fill the syringe(s) with the antidotes, but it wouldn't hurt >to have them sitting right there, just in case. I agree. Vets and physicians need to be ready for reactions in patients. Jumping fast in the right way is essential. Galaxy was never studied in ferrets per say. Fervac was but I don't know how intensely. Purevax from Merial had both lab and then clinical trials (which you can read about in the FML Archives http://listserv.cuny.edu/archives/ferret-search.html with info pretty much right from scratch since the FML community was very involved in that development and in saving that new vaccine which almost got shelved). Imrab 3 was one of several rabies vaccines tried in ferrets. One which works great in some other animals had immunity which lasted only 6 months in ferrets, one caused damage to the ferrets (who were then adopted by a vet involved in that part of testing -- I know because one made it to over 10 years of age with consistent care and Judi mourned losing him, the last of that grouping), Imrab 3 worked and later met USDA needs for protection. Titer levels knowledge and long lasting data remain unknown in ferrets and neither titer levels nor time effective should be generalized from any other animals because that can NOT be done with accuracy (see above paragraphs). Reaction care costs: we've had some vets who absorb the costs (reflected in other costs) and others who charge when reactions happen. Most vets we have encountered charge for it. Allergies are very hard to work around and that is what is at the base of vaccine reactions: allergies the ferrets have. It is possible to reduce the types and amounts of compounds which are more likely to be allergenic but anything at all can cause an allergy in someone: common foods, beautiful scents, vaccines, antibiotics, companion animals, the waste of dust mites, fungal spores, pollen, etc. [Posted in FML issue 4311]