>The links Sukie provided are very informative: > http://www.cdc.gov/nip/publications/fs/gen/howvpd.htm > *Antibodies and memory cells stay on guard in the body for years after > the vaccination to safeguard it from the real disease germs.* Beware generalizing where you should not, though. From some of the earlier statements given it was obvious that the foundation of immunity has been badly needed. Here is an important nuance: both the immunity to diseases and immunity acquired through vaccination VARY. They vary with vaccine types, they vary with disease types, they vary with species, they even vary among individuals. If folks here think about it everyone already knows this even if it hasn't been put into words before. Think of the diseases you have had before which offered you protection or partial protection from later infections. Some diseases provide no protections, whereas having had others can protect you for years. Ditto vaccines. How often you need boosters depends on the vaccine and exposure levels. *****Here is a ferret example of one vaccine which worked -- but for less than one year. During the original testing of rabies vaccines in ferrets several were tried. Some didn't work. At least one worked but had bad side-effects in ferrets even though it is fine for other animals (and I know the vet involved in that stage of testing who adopted these ferrets personally). One worked BUT it worked for only 6 months -- yes, 6 months. The original team realized that no one was going to vaccinate their ferrets twice in every year to prevent rabies so that vaccine was removed from the testing pool. This information was made a matter of public record by Dr. Judi Bell ages ago so anyone can seek it out easily enough.***** So, be CAREFUL. Don't take a general statement from a primer on the basics of immunity and generalize it in ways that are unwarranted. Honestly, I think that immunity is maybe one of the three biggest ferret health areas where lack of foundation most often leads to confusion (personal estimation and observation so hense "think" rather than "know"), so I really do suggest that it makes sense for folks to read up on the basics and be careful to try to not readjust what you read according to what has appeared in popular sites (often written by others without foundations). Then when you have a foundation on how the immune system works then re-read the actual studies. Belief just doesn't trump actual numbers and good studies, as well as considering those numbers from within the entire population to know RATES. When it comes to defining what is actually happening something firmer than faith in a concept is required. The popular sites tend to be confused often and lacking knowledge of the basics. There simply ARE situations where trying to build a conceptual house without having a foundation leads to an unsound structure, and I am certain that every single person here knows that is true from his or her own areas of expertise. It is no less true in biology. BTW, Dr. Deborah Kemmerer who is well known and widely loved here for making many marvelous advances that have saved ferrets through the years, for saving ferrets no one else could save, and for donating a large amounts of her time to get that information out where it can help everyone has done a careful study of the past and on-going research of bad vaccine effects in dogs for a professional veterinary conference presentation. Here are two figures from one she considered typical which involved MILLIONS of dogs and lasted over an 8 year time frame: - THREE cases of autoimmune hemolytic anemia - TWO cases of vaccine-related joint inflammation Do you know how very, very many dogs died due to NOT having their vaccines in those 8 years? It's huge. Meanwhile among millions those two complications accounted for a total of 5 individuals. (You can see why RATES are important to consider.) I was going to spend a lot of time today going through all that you sent but frankly a number of your statements that you've made over the last year + just don't mesh with how the immune system works, and I have limited time to figure out where the confusion is starting. Also, I already personally take rates of demonstrated problems into account as well as some suggested ones that still lack proof (and I still vaccinate except when an individual has a good reason to not be vaccinated such as a reaction history, being on chemo, etc. because the infection risk is still worse), and let's face it, you aren't going to budge, so why waste my time? I figure the people here are for the great part intelligent enough to seek out ferret expert vets and then discuss any questions remaining with them after their reading and act accordingly, and that seems good common sense to me. It sure makes more sense to go by the advice of a professional who is trusted to treat one's ferrets than by that of people and sites who are unknowns. I like to think that those of us who donate time to help advance ferret veterinary care do so to supplement ferret knowledgeable vets. We sure can't replace them. [Posted in FML issue 4643]