I figure people here are smart enough to have read and understood the precautions which have been given already, so an not repeating what others have written, nor what I recall writing recently. Knowledge is empowering for all and a heck of a lot more reliable than opinions that lack foundation. Seasonal considerations involve how much the disease is shared at different times of the year (for example raccoons are far, far more prone to have communal denning in winter), how much wild vector animals move around leaving their droppings, and how fast the viral fatty envelope is destroyed. fatty viral envelope: You can find a lot on this topic, but this will give some essential info on how to disrupt the fatty envelope and destroy the virus outside the body: http://www.marvistavet.com/html/body_canine_distemper.html >Because an intact fatty envelope is required for infection, virus >transmission must involve dog to dog contact or at least contact with >extremely fresh (less than 30 minutes old at 60 degrees and up to 3 >hours old at room temperature) infected body secretions. As with other >viruses, living virus happily freezes and can survive for years if >kept frozen and protected from light. Routine disinfection and >cleaning readily kills the distemper virus in the kennel setting. Other ways to protect ferrets who may have had insufficient vaccination (use of an unproven vaccine, or a serious illness or treatment for that illness that prevents titers levels reaching decent levels, or who have had no vaccination in a reasonable timeframe, or who lack the full kit series of vaccine and enough boosters, or who lack the adult equivalent foundation to replace the missing kit series using 2 spaced vaccinations later which is the protective level that has been STRONGLY urged by vets after 2011 shelter CD infections *****and which those vets say appears to be among the most important lessons for shelters to remember*****): 1. Leave your shoes where they can not be gotten and do not use them in your home or shelter: you can bring in infected fecal matter which can stay moist on your footwear 2. Do not let those unvaccinated, undervaccinated, or otherwise vulnerable ferrets wander outside of have access to potentially infectious material from outside. 3. Do not bring in anyone, any animal, or anything which may be infected or carry the infection. 4. Quarantine 5. Maintain sufficient Vitamin A levels: http://jn.nutrition.org/content/137/8/1916.long BEGIN QUOTE J Nutr. 2007 Aug;137(8):1916-22. J Nutr. 2007 Aug;137(8):1916-22. Disease manifestations of canine distemper virus infection in ferrets are modulated by vitamin A status. Rodeheffer C, von Messling V, Milot S, Lepine F, Manges AR, Ward BJ. McGill University Health Centre Research Institute, Faculty of Medicine, Division of Infectious Diseases, Montreal General Hospital, Montreal, QC, Canada. The measles virus (MV) causes half a million childhood deaths annually. Vitamin A supplements significantly reduce measles-associated mortality and morbidity. The mechanisms whereby vitamin A acts against MV are not understood and currently there is no satisfactory small animal model for MV infection. We report on the development of a ferret model to study antiviral activity of vitamin A against canine distemper virus (CDV). CDV is closely related to MV at the molecular level and distemper in ferrets mimics measles in humans. We infected vitamin A-replete (control) and vitamin A-depleted ferrets with CDV and assessed the ability of high-dose vitamin A supplements to influence CDV disease. In control ferrets, CDV infection caused fever, rash, conjunctivitis, cough, coryza, and diarrhea. In contrast, control ferrets that were given 30 mg of vitamin A did not develop typical distemper after infection and exhibited only a mild rash. The supplement did not negatively affect ferret health and resulted in a 100% increase in serum and liver vitamin A concentrations. We also found that profound vitamin A deficiency is inducible in ferrets and can be rapidly reversed upon high-dose vitamin A supplementation. Vitamin A deficiency caused anorexia, diarrhea, cataracts, behavioral abnormalities, and ultimately death, with or without CDV infection. All ferrets that received vitamin A supplements, however, recovered uneventfully from CDV infection. These results replicate many aspects of the observations of vitamin A therapy in humans with measles and suggest that CDV infection in ferrets is an appropriate model for the study of the antiviral mechanism of vitamin A. END QUOTE (Ferrets are descended from long lines of species that ate full animals including livers so handle high levels of Vitamin A far better than humans, but also are descended from long lines of burrow dwellers who are most active at dawn and dusk, which is called crepuscular activity, so handle far lower levels of Vitamin D than diurnal species like us and get sick from too much D.) 6. Have shelter workers have effective measles vaccines onboard or have them have previously had measles: I am trying to find a study mentioned in one of the paragraphs on this topic,and may have to send later IF I even have time to also look for that resource later, but found these for you: http://m.extension.illinois.edu/wildlife/health_diseases.cfm includes >The risk of Canine distemper to humans is low, with transmission >more likely to occur from domestic dogs than from wild carnivores, >but people should avoid contact with infected wild animals. Measles and Canine Distemper are closely related. http://www.marvistavet.com/html/body_canine_distemper.html includes >Humans can get infected with the virus meaning the virus seems able >to replicate in the human body but no illness results. At one time, >multiple sclerosis was thought to be associated with exposure to >the canine distemper virus but further research suggests that it >is actually the human measles virus (a close relative of canine >distemper) that may be the culprit. It does not appear that there >is any human hazard in the canine distemper virus. (There is still some research going on about a possible link to MS but I don't have time to read the studies though I included just a couple of links lower in this in case someone here finds it interesting.) Yes, that humans can contract CDV short-term IS a strange one for you: a while back (and I'd have to search to find them but do not have time now) there were studies indicating that even though people can not themselves get Canine Distemper disease symptoms there IS a subset of people who can carry the virus before it "realizes" that it can't take hold and dies off. Those are people who have not had measles or who do not have a still effective measles vaccine (sufficient titer levels) in their own bodies. Weird, huh? Hopefully today's responsibilities will give me time to dig that out again for you. I found it originally when gathering info for one of the several shelters to have CDV in 2011 but I seem to have goofed and not saved a copy for myself. Record keeping is done only on animals for whom a vaccine is approved and licensed: So, don't expect to find any compiled records on meds that are used off-label including for different species. How allergic reactions occur and why a first vaccination or even the few first ones in any animal typically will NOT cause an allergic reaction and is not a predictor of future reactions: Allergies are almost always to things for which the individual has had a LOT of exposures. That is why the more common grain allergy in southern China is rice but in northern China it is wheat, because those are the grains more commonly eaten in those regions, and it also is why favorite foods are more likely to become ones to which an individual has allergies, or why some allergy groupings occur in many individuals like related foods, or latex and bananas, or iodine and crustaceans. When an allergic reaction occurs without previous exposure to the exact same med it usually means there is something in the medium used to transport it to which the individual has had exposures, or that the individual is especially prone to cross-reactivity with allergies. Allergies to medications develop when a portion of the immune system misidentifies a medication (or other allergen) as an invader. Do NOT expect symptoms to happen that time, because usually the reaction occurs the NEXT time. How to treat an anaphylactic reaction: The primary medication is EPINEPHREN when a severe allergic reaction occurs. Other approaches may be used in conjunction, such as steroids, antihistamines, fluids, oxygen, etc. That is the same for ferrets as it is for humans. Most individuals who have anaphylactic reactions and get rapid enough treatment LIVE without problems resulting, though not all do, and delayed treatment can result in damage which includes brain damage. That is the same for both humans and ferrets. The need for rapid response is why waiting at the vet hospital after vaccinations is logical, ditto at your allergist after an allergy shot especially if you are prone to anaphylactic reactions as I am. (Sublingual immunotherapy seems to not have that same risk factor for people though life always has its exceptions.) Do NOT confuse feeling ill for a while after a vaccine with an allergic response. Feeling ill actually often means that the immune system is responding in a useful way for becoming educated. The importance of doing titers: Having titers done not only tells you when an animal is still protected, but it may also be that ones running very high titer levels may be more prone to having anaphylactic reactions, so when the levels are high enough vaccination can be skipped. Due to one of the two first stage CDV studies (the one in which we participated) we found that we had protected animals who were in the middle, two who ran incredibly high titer levels over the years they were tested, and one who always needed the vaccine every year. Challenge studies have not been done on ferrets (as far as I know) to compare to titer numbers so usually what is considered protected is higher than what is considered protected for dogs just to be safest. Once enough is known on that score two things can maybe become possible: 1. It may be that the vaccines can be given much less often in most adult ferrets. OR 2. It may be that a weaker vaccine might work for protection while reducing the risk of reactions, but it might not because levels that are too low might not educate the immune system in the first place. Other animals able to use Purevax include a number of wild animals that a person does not usually think of in terms of CD infection such as lions, tigers, and a number of other large cats, seals, lesser pandas, etc. In fact, when the FML members helped get Purevax released part of the encouragement to do so was from zoos and conservation programs wanting to protect animals. More on that is closer to the end of this post. Some rather recent work is not known about by many people, so I am including some abstracts: BEGIN QUOTE Vaccine. 2009 Aug 6;27(36):4961-6. Epub 2009 Jun 18. A chimeric measles virus with canine distemper envelope protects ferrets from lethal distemper challenge. Rouxel RN, Svitek N, von Messling V. Source INRS-Institut Armand-Frappier, University of Quebec, 531, boul. des Prairies, Laval, Quebec H7V 1B7, Canada. PMID: 19540272 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE] END QUOTE http://vir.sgmjournals.org/content/90/9/2157.long BEGIN QUOTE Lymphotropism and host responses during acute wild-type canine distemper virus infections in a highly susceptible natural host Line Nielsen, Mette Sogaard, Trine Hammer Jensen, Mads Klindt Andersen, Bent Aasted and Merete Blixenkrone-Moller Department of Veterinary Disease Biology, Faculty of Life Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Stigbojlen 7, DK-1870 Frederiksberg C, Denmark Correspondence Merete Blixenkrone-Moller Received 30 January 2009. Accepted 29 May 2009. Abstract The mechanisms behind the in vivo virulence of immunosuppressive wild-type morbillivirus infections are still not fully understood. To investigate lymphotropism and host responses, we have selected the natural host model of canine distemper virus (CDV) infection in mink. This model displays multisystemic infection, similar to measles virus and rinderpest virus infections in their susceptible natural hosts. The wild-type CDVs investigated provoked marked virulence differences, inducing mild versus marked to severe acute disease. The mildly virulent wild-type virus induced transient lymphopenia, despite the development of massive infection of peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) exceeding that determined for the highly virulent wild-type virus, indicating an inverse relationship between acute virulence and the extent of viraemia in the investigated wild-type viruses. Single-cell cytokine production in PBMCs was investigated throughout the acute infections. We observed Th1- and Th2-type cytokine responses beginning in the prodromal phase, and late inflammatory responses were shared between the wild-type infections. END QUOTE If you are curious why some CDV strains are worse that others: http://jvi.asm.org/content/82/21/10510.long BEGIN QUOTE Semin Neurol. 2011 Jul;31(3):307-16. doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.1055/s-0031-1287656. Epub 2011 Sep 30. Evidence for viral etiology of multiple sclerosis. Tselis A. Source Department of Neurology, Wayne State University School of Medicine, Detroit, Michigan 48201, USA. [log in to unmask] Abstract The etiology of multiple sclerosis (MS) is unknown, and several hypotheses have been advanced over the past century to explain it. Despite much effort, no single cause has been established. One of the most appealing hypotheses is that of infection due to a neurotropic infectious agent, possibly a virus. There are several lines of data to support this hypothesis. First, there are clear examples of inflammatory demyelinating disease caused directly or indirectly by viral infections in both humansand animals. Second, there is a strong environmental component to multiple sclerosis. Finally, there is aberrant immune reactivity against various viruses. Recent candidates have included measles and the related canine distemper virus, human herpesvirus 6, human endogenous retroviruses, and Epstein-Barr virus. The evidence is most extensive for the latter and will be discussed in some detail. (c) Thieme Medical Publishers. PMID: 21964847 [PubMed - in process] END QUOTE plus others like http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17410634 though I find the wording in the abstract unclear in relation to humans On why MODIFIED measles and distemper viruses are studied to help carry destruction to malignancies: http://www.translational-medicine.com/content/10/1/3/abstract but there are a lot more studies on that topic For those interested in how CDV wildlife vaccination can affect at least one ecosystem: <http://www.plosone.org/article/info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pone.0028671> On how the Global problem with CDV is increasing and how it jumps across species: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/10/071025094914.htm Finally, *****I don't know anyone who has an economic interest in Merial or in the Purevax product and we certainly don't either***** plus I can't even figure out a decent reason why anyone would even say such a thing about anyone who has given information, and have to wonder if that was just poor wording. Besides buying those vaccines from our veterinarians the only other contact we had with Merial was being among those who urged them to release Purevax when the research was done. Why was that needed? Well, Merial was worried that ferret people might not care enough about their ferrets to spend for the cost of a very proven vaccine. (It had BOTH lab testing with titer work and then challenge work, and after that also field testing which were at the company's expense as far as I know -- though I did not check that -- before release and that adds to cost but it also means the vaccine works.) So, ferret people played a major role in getting Purevax released (though that company certainly still does not do production runs of it as often as would be best), and, yeah, I was a NAG toward Merial in that situation though a polite nag. Here is an example of how the members of the FML helped get Purevax released: <http://listserv.ferretmailinglist.org/SCRIPTS/WA-FERRET.EXE?A2=ind0001&L=FERRET-SEARCH&P=R455> For those few people who do not know who Dr. Bruce Williams is, he is the veterinary pathologist who first propelled a very large portion of the advances in ferret pathology/histology information, the inspiration for those who used his work as a jumping off point and as proof that people really DO care about ferret health. Now, there are a number of excellent ferret pathologists and one group of them even has a very extensive website to help all: http://www.ferrethealth.msu.edu/ Yes, one inspiring, educated, and dedicated expert who actually understands vet med has made a huge difference and there are other examples among vets and vet groups, too. Sukie (not a vet) Recommended ferret health links: http://pets.groups.yahoo.com/group/ferrethealth/ http://ferrethealth.org/archive/ 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 7314]