Second first: Carnivores have high enough nitrogen levels in their waste that they can cause root burn, true for dogs, cats, ferrets, etc. There were two very old epidemiological studies done on ferrets and referenced in at least the first James Fox (ed) text on ferrets, _Biology and Diseases of the Ferret)_ and perhaps in his second edition. When 75% of the colony had effective CD vaccines on board there was some spread but it was greatly reduced, but when 75% did not have effective CD vaccines on board the infection swept through that colony. That is from memory and i got very little sleep last night so check me. Shelters have two real problems: lack of reliable vaccination histories, and animals who are already compromised enough that the vaccines may not work as well as they would in a healthy animal (or may not even be able to be given till health problems come under control). There is also the timing issue because vaccines or extra vaccines on board after infection spreads may not work on those who already have contracted the infection but are not showing symptoms yet. Have someone unknowingly throw a CD carrier into that sort of mix and there is huge trouble. The type of vaccine might matter, too. There have not yet been the sorts of studies done on Galaxy which were done on Purevax. We are very busy with Telemna; she is in a life threatening platelet problem so we're at the vets' a lot these days and trying additional meds which might work in conjunction with what she already has on board, steroids and a chemo agent that decreases estrogen output. Telemna's various medical problems add up to a difficult situation. For those who want to know more see the messages in the FHL or the FHL Archives. Sukie (not a vet) Recommended ferret health links: http://pets.groups.yahoo.com/group/ferrethealth/ http://ferrethealth.org/archive/ http://www.afip.org/ferrets/index.html http://www.miamiferret.org/ http://www.ferrethealth.msu.edu/ http://www.ferretcongress.org/ http://www.trifl.org/index.shtml http://homepage.mac.com/sukie/sukiesferretlinks.html all ferret topics: http://listserv.ferretmailinglist.org/archives/ferret-search.html "All hail the procrastinators for they shall rule the world tomorrow." (2010, Steve Crandall) On change for its own sake: "You can go really fast if you just jump off the cliff." (2010, Steve Crandall) [Posted in FML 7054]