From:
"kazpat1@juno.com"
Date: 2005-05-14 17:32:29 UTC
Subject: Vaccines Reactions
To: ferrethealth@smartgroups.com
Message-Id: <20050514.103254.16051.7786@webmail28.lax.untd.com>
Your arguement to weigh the risks is a good one.
I have seen more ferrets die from distemper than from a vaccine reaction. So my personal experiences sway me the other way.
The reaction rate is around 1-3%, I would guess a very small percent of that 3% actually have serious consequences. We have heard of a few here, but how many more people on this list ( 100's more? ) have not had any reactions and have vaccinated their ferrets? We only hear the bad things, not usually the good things.
I had distemper in my home, a friend's home, and the following year a good shelter in NY had distemper. There are more cases each year, but those are the ones I know of personally. The combined loss of ferrets over those incidents were well over 20 ferrets. I don't know their vaccine status. Of my own, I did lose only 1 of 10 properly vaccinated ferrets, but 4 more that were not vaccinated well (new rescues, s/p surgery,etc)
On the other hand, with 10 years owning ferrets, helping with rescues I have been present for over 100 vaccinations and only seeing a few vaccine reactions - I don't see the vacccinations as being a major risk. I personally am lucky, with years of vaccinating my ferrets- I have only had one react of my own, and that was a quick collapse, turn blue and he did survive. The following years he did fine with another distemper vaccine (during the outbreak so he had to get it), but he did survive and did not get distemper.
Again, if you rescue, take them out, bring in animals or are at any way at risk for distemper you have to vaccinate. If you are not at risk, and especially if you have an older ferret, then it is probably not worth the risk of the vaccine- just be careful. Talk to your vet, and weigh your risks with the benefits on an individual basis. Just remember, distemper is 100% fatal, and the chance of a vaccine reaction is very small.
Patty
--I'm just a layperson who owns ferrets, and I understand the severity of canine
distemper. However, I have never vaccinated my ferrets. I think you have to weigh
the risks in a pragmatic manner. As I have stated above, I've heard of more ferrets
affected by the vaccine than the disease. I would be totally willing to hear an
argument against my thinking on this.
Roary
Albuquerque, NM