> Date: Thu, 12 May 1994 08:32:51 -0400 > Subject: Vaccinations > As far as feline distemper goes, while ferrets can contract this viru s, > it doesn't cause clinical disease in the ferret, hence, vaccination is not > necessary. >I have a question about this. Since ferrets can contract the virus, does that >mean that they can in turn pass it along to cats (and other susceptible >animals)? If so, would vaccination prevent this? >Thanks! >Nancy Hartman Internet - [log in to unmask] GEnie - n.hartman4 >President, Delaware Valley Ferret Club | CIS Grad Student, U. of Delaware >*** Caregiver to Percy, Bree, Popcorn, & Scuttlebutt the ferrets *** >"We can judge the heart of a man by his treatment of animals" - Kant Nancy, I have been asked this question before, and I don't have a good answer, as no one's ever done a study on this. My feelings are that they could pass it to unvaccinated cats. Passage through a ferret would most likely not inactivate this virus. However, to vaccinate a ferret simply to prevent this occurrence would most likely not be feasible. Inmfected ferrets would shed for a short time, then get their own natural immunity. Iwould concentrate vaccination efforts on the cats instead. Bruce Williams, DVM Department of Veterinary Pathology [log in to unmask] Armed Forces Institute of Pathology (202) 576-2453/2454 Washington, D.C. 20306-6000 [Posted in FML issue 0830]