Folks, I just got off the phone with Joanne Dreeben who runs the local ferret shelter in Yonkers. She is also a licensed wildlife rehabilitator. She had a sick animal (not a ferret) brought to her several weeks ago who appeared to have distemper. It was put down *immediately* on the assumption that it did have distemper, and she took precautions to contain the suspected problem (double bagged the body, bleached/disinfected everything, shut off the main ferret room, changed clothes, etc., etc.). Despite all of her precautions, the virus found it's way into the shelter area, and several ferrets have been infected. All those that were symptomatic have been put down; one was tested early on to confirm that it was indeed infected with distemper. (Even some of the ones which were current on their vaccinations became infected; in one cage holding three, two got sick and one didn't. That may be indicitive of a low immunity issue with the ferrets or it may indicate that the virus mutated enough to make the vaccination ineffective. We don't know, although in a shelter environment the first is more likely.) Distemper is nearly 100% fatal. The virus is airborne, and can be brought inside on your shoes or clothing. The *best* protection is to keep your animals -dogs, cats and ferrets - up to date on their vaccinations. If money is tight, check with your vet about a payment plan or ask around about local vaccination clinics to see if you can have it done inexpensively, but please please *please*, if your pets do not have a bad reaction history, keep them up to date. Right now Joanne is shut down - no ferrets go in or out. If all goes well, she should be "clean" in 2-3 weeks (if no more animals get sick, it's been seven days since the last one). She is running in quarantine mode, going through a lot of disinfectant and disposable rubber gloves, and hoping that she won't see any more of this, because any ferret that turns up sick with needs to be put down. Joanne called to let me know that the problem is here in Westchester, in my backyard. I'm writing to all of you to remind you that it could be lurking in yours too. Please send her and the surviving ferrets good thoughts and prayers. If anyone wants to send a note of support (or donation), she can be reached at: Joanne Dreeben 576 Valley Ave Yonkers, NY 10703 [log in to unmask] -Ilena Ayala [Posted in FML issue 4570]