From:
sukiecrandall@telocity.com
Date: 2002-09-27 20:44:27 UTC
Subject: re: premature vaccinations
To: ferrethealth@smartgroups.com
Message-ID: <17317376.1033159467187.JavaMail.root@scandium>
Author wrote:
> http://fhl.sonic-weasel.org/browse.php?msg=YG9388
I know that there are always those who skim through and don't go to sites, but this one is so important to this part of the conversation that I have copied it below to help folks know the arguments on both sides of this portion of the conversation.
Here is Dr. Ruth Heller's past post:
Well, what we do know is that a titer from an animal that has been
exposed to the virus is a lot higher than an animal that has been
vaccinated. What we do not know is what level of protection a titer
in a vaccinated animal indicates. For instance, if we have a titer
that is at a certain level, does that mean the animal is protected
against distemper or not? We just do not have enough data to
determine that. I personally feel that the vaccines are protective
for more than a year. But I do not *know* that, and I refuse to
risk my ferrets to a fatal disease. So I vaccinate them, and I
recommend annual vaccination. I will continue to do this until we
have more proof about the duration of immunity produced by the
vaccine extending beyond one year.
And I'm afraid that the rabies immunity levels extending to three
years were not done by measuring titers, but rather by conducting
tests which involved exposing vaccinated animals to rabies, and
seeing if they came down with the disease, not by measuring titer
levels.
Dr. Ruth
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Save lives - spay or neuter your pet.