Bruce Levine wrote: > ... intranasal vaccines produce IgA which protects best against viruses >that are mainly intestinal or respiratory. Considering the systemic nature >of the Canine Distemper virus, it is doubtful anything other than IgG >(injection) would be protective. I'm going to take a wait-and-see approach to that since the whole field of mucosal immunity is relative recent (or recently revived from dormancy). My work is with sexually transmitted diseases, most of which *do* infect mucous membranes. There is much interest in intravaginal vaccines for STDs. However, there is also great interest in mucosal vaccines for HIV, which is very much a systemic disease. The idea is to increase the potential for immunity at the site where the virus enters the body. For most viruses, this is some type of mucous membrane such as the mouth, nose, or anogenital area. Some researchers think that using a vaccine in these locations may be more effective than or at least a useful adjunct to systemic vaccines. But, this still isn't well researched at this point so I doubt anyone can quantify the benefits--if any--of nasal or other mucous membrane vaccines. >Actually, the rabies virus DOES pass through the placenta to the fetus >in skunks. However this process has only been demonstrated in skunks. Thanks for verifying this. I don't understand the biology behind it since rabies travels through nerve cells and the nervous system of the mother and fetus are not associated as is the circulatory system. I'll take your word for it though and I'll see if I can find some explanation for the mechanism involved. (Any citations you know of?) Such information does not help the efforts to convince the public and *some* state health officials that a risk assessment and quarantine are sufficient in most bite incidents. I worry that for those who have a negative attitude toward "exotic" pets will use such information to make ferrets guilty by association since ferrets and skunks are both mustelids. --Jeff Johnston [Moderator's note: There have been a case of aerosol transmission of rabies by spelunkers from bat guano - does that help or hurt the puzzle? BIG] [Posted in FML issue 1619]