Distemper Vaccine

[Deleted]

Hello,

As I'm sure you're all painfully aware, the only FDA approved distemper vaccination for ferrets is no longer available. Reginald, my 5 month old boy, has had his first distemper booster, but has not yet received his 2nd or 3rd. It's a concern because I'd like to be able to take him outdoors on walks so I can continue leash training him, and we do have many other animals (including a dog) at home. 

I asked my vet about the Nobivac Puppy DPV, and she said that it would be suitable, however she can only order it in very large lots, and apparently they don't see enough ferret patients to justify ordering it just so one or two ferrets can be vaccinated. 

Does anyone have any ideas on what I could/should do?

[Heather]

When did he get his first distemper vaccine? If it's the original Marshal vaccine it's useless and he's not vaccinated. Do you have other vets in your area that might actually have puppies? It seems odd that your vet will not bring in a puppy vaccine, I could understand if it was the ferret only vaccine but it's a common vaccine used by many vets. It's not even like it's a single disease coverage. It's a common puppy vaccination for distemper and parvovirus.
ciao

[Deleted]

Ah, well in that case he probably needs all three then, still.

I contacted all three of the local vets I know of, and none of them carry it, my mom even asked the large animal/dog vet who sees our horses, and she doesn't have it, either. I can try the "small animal" vet, but as far as I know they don't see ferrets.

In about a month I'm heading down to Florida, and there are many exotic vets in the area I'll be in, so I'll call and ask about it.

I didn't know the first Marshal distemper booster is useless...do you have more information on it, as I'd like to read up if I can?

[Heather]

It's a selling feature. It's not useless...the timing is wrong that's all. If your little one is older than 16 weeks then chances are all you're going to need is 1 distemper shot. The booster as everyone calls it.
I'm going to copy a paragraph out of my vaccine course, The Essential Guide to Canine Vaccines. It's for puppies but ferrets are the same thing and the exact same protocol that is followed. I can explain further if you would like to know more. Hope this helps you understand a bit more
ciao


Most vets vaccinate puppies every two to three weeks, because they have no way to tell whether the maternal antibodies have blocked the vaccine. We now know that the more vaccines we give our dogs, the more we expose them to mercury, aluminum and other toxins which are not only dangerous for the developing puppy’s neural system, but can be responsible for the common diseases we see in dogs today.

In place of revaccinating puppies at regular intervals, you can do two things to reduce the number of vaccines given to your puppy.

First, you can vaccinate only once at 16 weeks of age. Since we know that puppies vaccinated at this age are extremely likely to be protected for life, it would make the most sense to wait until this age to vaccinate. Since even vaccinated puppies should stay away from dog parks and other heavily trafficked areas (and the vet’s office should be included in this list), waiting until 16 weeks of age to vaccinate is a safe choice for most healthy puppies.

[ferretbrah]

^is there a particular reason why even vaccinated puppies should stay away from a park?

I ask because my friend just got a rescue Britney spaniel puppy around 4 months.

My two just had the marshals shot(s) before they went to the store I presume. I am definitely going to look into the puppy vaccine at their next visit since they go in my front and back yards almost every day, and visit the park and pet store occassionally about once every 2 months.

[ferretbrah]

And then I guess another question is has any study or data been done to determine if vaccinations in ferrets affect lifespan or increase chances of adrenal / insulinoma etc, though I couldn't see how they would .

[Heather]

Vaccines for ferrets have the same side effects as dogs and cats. There are a treasure trove of them. You have to remember they are a toxin that you're injecting into their bodies. Will it affect adrenal, insulinoma...no. Will over vaccinating them increase their chances of lymphoma, allergies, vaccine reactions....probably. I have been studying vaccines, reactions and affects for many years. My suggestion is to get a distemper vaccine at 6 months and a rabies vaccine at a year and then titre thereafter, but it's only a suggestion. Not everyone is comfortable with that.
As for the puppy...chances are if it's a rescue the rescue vaccinated them, and they usually vaccinate for everything. It is recommended that puppies under the age of 4 months never go to dog parks but again that's up to the person who has them.
ciao

[Deleted]

Where are you hearing the vaccine is discontinued? Drug shortages happen all the time - I know there've been times my family has panicked because of Phenobarbital shortages where we've very nearly run out of Honeycake's stock. She needs it to control seizures so even if she misses a few days its pretty serious, let alone not being able to get a hold of it for months at a time.


Anyway, I'm not huge on vaccinating to begin with - yes when they're babies/a year old. After that I wouldn't bother. I especially wouldn't bother with ferrets in the future, unless your area was known for distemper outbreaks, after what happened to Rolo. He went into shock and had to be kept on oxygen all day because he couldn't breathe properly.

[Heather]

The purevax distemper vaccine by Meriel is "unavailable" and depending on who you talk to likely to be discontinued. This is the only "ferret" distemper vaccine. The rest are all canine distemper vaccines. There are alternatives but the made for vaccine is unavailable. This isn't a shortage, this was a manufacturing failure. The information seems as to when it will be available has been sketchy. It has not been manufactured since 2013. There have a couple of attempts at running a batch but both resulted in failure. At that time they stopped offering a return date. After this time we can only conclude that there will be no ferret vaccine in the near future and must make do with alternatives if we're going to vaccinate.
ciao

[Deleted]

He went into shock and had to be kept on oxygen all day because he couldn't breathe properly.

Read more: holisticferret60.proboards.com/thread/18516/distemper-vaccine#ixzz3fI3vzmF8

Oh Gosh!


My vet told me not to have a ferret around a puppy that has just gotten a distemper shot(just as a precaution).I do not know if they have proven ferrets can get it from pups at this time or not. 

[Deleted]

I got into contact with a vet clinic where I'll be heading, and they informed me that they do not stock Nobivac, either, and that they are waiting for purevax...I just really, really don't like having him left unvaccinated, but I suppose there's not really an alternative, at this point.

[Deleted]

I have a sevenish yr old --she has never been vaccinated other than what she was given at marshall farms. Of course i do not take  her out in the woods for walks or anything like that.

[Deleted]

Our vet said it might not be a bad idea to get it. Mainly this is the case do to other animals that need to see them every day. We also sometimes take our ferrets out for walks and probably more so now that my fiancé got a new job so our schedule is more flexible.

[Deleted]

I have had this issue as well. I went to a local vet that claims to know about ferrets but when I got in there I really don't think she does. She told me that I cant get the distemper vaccination anymore because it hasnt been proven to work for ferrets and that they think it causes more problems. Her words not mine though. Also she told me I couldn't get flea medication for them either.. so now I have to travel an hour in traffic to see my sisters vet for help.. I'm concerned because I have a lot of animals living in the same house (family pets). She said in B.C its not common but.. i'm still concerned..

[raynebc]

There's been some discussion in another thread ( holisticferret60.proboards.com/post/267366/thread ) about Merial saying that the Purevax ferret distemper vaccine being available again. I emailed my vet but haven't heard back yet, I'll probably end up having to call them.