From:
sukiec@optonline.net
Date: 2005-12-18 15:30:17 UTC
Subject: [ferrethealth] RE: Pros and Cons of Vaccinations Needed
To: ferrethealth@smartgroups.com
Hi, Debbie.
Okay, first off, there are a LOT of opinions on this topic but they tend to scant on actual facts.
The reason for that is a good one: THE NEEDED FACTS DO NOT EXIST FOR FERRETS.
1. No one knows what the titer levels reliably mean for ferrets.
2. It is NOT possible to generalize from dogs or cats to ferrets.
3. It is not possible to generalize among vaccines.
4. Vaccines that behave one way in dogs or cats will NOT necessarily behave the same way in ferrets. For example, in the early years when rabies vaccines were being tested for use in ferrets one of the vaccines that was safe for dogs and cats had horrible side effects in ferrets. Another, which lasted a long time in other animals worked for only six months in ferrets! No joke and no exaggeration: I knew one of the researchers involved in that testing; in fact, she personally adopted the ferrets who were handicapped by the vaccine with the bad side effects. I got the info from her directly.
5. Tests that were valid for old avianized vaccines are NOT applicable to today's vaccines. Those were vaccines which were grown in eggs. It is a costly and difficult way to grown vaccines with the laying hens even grown under very pristine conditions, and today is used pretty much only for influenza vaccines. It is know for a fact that the length of effect of those no longer available vaccines was a long one in ferrets because ferrets used to be used for the safety testing before the vacciens were tried on dogs.
6. There have been cases of ferrets who have contracted canine distemper after a few years without vaccines, We had one such CD family locally. The person had been convinced to not vaccinate by a non-vet. All of the younger ones for whom she had not provided vaccinations at all died and they died horribly, because that is what Canine Distemper is about. The older ones had been vaccinated either 2 or 3 years before. The actual number of years was not known. The treating vet was a vet other than the one she had used those years before and the information was never available. I don't know why. The older ones survived BUT they all had neurological damage and all had markedly compromised quality of life and were expected to not live full life spans. So, either 2 or 3 years between vaccinations was not enough to provide protection for whatever vaccine was used.
7. Remember that with prompt and proper response most ferrets who react do not die. Yes, deaths can happen, even with the proper response and excellent vets doing all the right things, but they are rare, so rare that a vet I knew still painfully recalls the names of both ferrets she knew who died of that sort of reaction in her many years of practice.
8. During the years when the avianized vaccines were being tested on ferrets there was another another test grouping being done: of what happens in a population with to CDV. You can read about this, too, in _Biology and Diseases of the Ferret_. I do not recall if this is in both editions. When 75% of the ferrets in a colony were vaccinated and then CDV was introduced a few individuals died but having so many ferrets who could not catch and pass along the disease also protected most of the vaccinated ferrets. BUT when 25% were vaccinated all the unvaccinated ferrets died. Also, in that latter group once symptoms appeared it was too late to protect the unvaccinated ferrets by giving vaccines. They already had silent infections which then took off.
9. Although ferrets can react to the rabies vaccine (and in 25 years we have had two ferrets -- who were related to each other -- react to it) the chances of reacting to the rabies vaccine is far lower than that of reacting to the canine distemper variants.
Okay, this part of my post is not fact based: we have opted to give the CDV vaccines to our own healthy ferrets every 18 months until more is known, but we give the rabies vaccines to our ferrets every year. It took 10 years of very hard work and lots of expense funding the work to get ferrets with dogs and cats in the _Compendium for Animal Rabies Control. Those who were not there in those years have no concept at all of how very many ferrets all of that effort saved. I've heard some extremely naive statements from people who have no actual idea what it is like to not have that protection; people who choose to not provide rabies vaccination and assume all will be fine.
Honestly, the thing to do to HAVE ACTUAL ANSWERS INSTEAD OF POTENTIALLY DANGEROUS GUESSES is to find a researcher who is willing to do the years of testing needed and have the ferret community fund it. We funded more complex things when out numbers were fewer so we certainly are capable.
IN SUBJECTS LIKE THIS WHERE THERE ARE MANY OPINIONS BUT NOT MANY FACTS -- AND WHEN AN ERROR IS SO VERY DANGEROUS -- USE CAUTION!
REMEMBER THAT IF SOMEONE'S VOCIFEROUSLY STATED OPINION WITHOUT HARD FACTS KILLS YOUR FERRET IT WILL BE ONLY YOU, YOUR FERRET, AND THE TREATING VET WHO TRIES TO HELP WHO WILL SUFFER. The person the soap box may just stay there.
We need FACTS and right now there just isn't the needed research to provide them.
Your questions are good ones, but the hard facts needed to not risk lives just do not exist yet.
Author wrote:
> Hello,
> I am looking for any information that I can find on the pros and cons of
> vaccinating ferrets against rabies and distemper. My mother-in-law has read
> recently that vaccinating small dogs (like her chihuaha) annually may actually
> shorten their lives, which is why I'm asking, and I'd love to see links to any studies
> about small dogs or ferrets, because I'm not finding that info.
> I know that vaccinating against rabies protects the ferret from beheading if it bites
> someone. I also know that both diseases are fatal to ferrets. These are both very
> good pros, but are there others?
> As for the cons, I've mentioned one possibility above. There is also the possibility
> of reaction, exposure to diseases from other animals while at the vets (always a
> slim possibilty on any vet visit). Any other cons I don't know about?
> I know many, many people have their ferrets vaccinated every year. I know there
> are others who don't even know that medical science says they should. I'm sure
> there are others that choose not to for one reason or another. I would love to hear
> thoughts from everyone on this.
> Thanks for all the health information you all provide to each other every day. I
> read it all, and save much of it "just in case."
> Debbie
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