From:
"Sukie Crandall"
Date: 2008-03-15 17:26:42 UTC
Subject: [ferrethealth] Re: vaccines
To: ferrethealth@yahoogroups.com
Well, I can completely understand a vet wanting a distemper
vaccine on board ahead of time for a surgical patient, especially
this time of year, when CD is first poking up its head in high
amounts in Spring.
Canine Distemper is a horrid, horrid disease, and way too easily
transmitted. Hopefully, the titer studies will lead in a few years
to knowing a safe enough wider spacing for the vaccinations once
a ferret is an adult, but meanwhile it really makes sense to either
vaccinate or never place the ferrets into a situation that increases
the risks of infection (playing outside, having your shoes inside,
interacting with unvaccinated or questionable animals and then
interacting with yours while wearing the same clothing and before
showering, going to ferret play groups, etc.)
Giving both vaccines at the same time to ferrets does not make
sense to me. Even if it does not increase the rate of reactions
(which it might if the matrix the vaccine is in shares that individual's
allergen) it still prevents knowing which vaccine caused the reaction.
Vaccinating a compromised animal does not always make sense; it
depends on the individual and the situation. Did the vet know the
medical history for that ferret?
Foaming mouth isn't something I have seen with a reaction but can
see how hypersalivation could do that.
Then again, neither does the mention of strokes make sense to me.
Ferrets tend to not have arterial plaque so when they throw something
to the brain it is usually a clot, a thrombosis, not plaque so not stroke.
There needs to be a causative problem to throw clots so that
underlying cause always needs to be found and treated. Heart disease
is common. Kidney disease is possible. Lymphoma or some other
possible causes alternatively could exist. Could you give more history
and what that ferret is being treated for, or if not being treated then
what tests have been done?
(See past posts of Dr. Bruce Williams on "strokes" in the FHL archives:
http://ferrethealth.org/archive/
just plug "williams" in "from line" and "strokes" into the box that searches
the message body. Leave the subject line box empty. IT'S EASY!)
My bet is that the vet got every bit as scared as your husband and you
did so why not use this as an opportunity to give the vet URLs that can
teach the vet? Then many are helped. Even feel free to copy my entire
ferret links page if you want to pass on to the vet:
http://homepage.mac.com/sukie/sukiesferretlinks.html
Avoid being confrontational about it, please. (You already know that,
though)
If the vet doesn't want to learn then that is truly worrisome.
Sukie (not a vet)
Recommended ferret health links:
http://pets.groups.yahoo.com/group/ferrethealth/
http://ferrethealth.org/archive/
http://www.afip.org/ferrets/index.html
http://www.miamiferret.org/fhc/
http://www.ferretcongress.org/
http://www.trifl.org/index.shtml
http://homepage.mac.com/sukie/sukiesferretlinks.html
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