Contact transmission of distemper virus in ferrets

Distemper virus was transmitted when infected donor ferrets were placed with susceptible ferrets for various contact periods. Distemper was more likely to be transmitted during the later stages of the disease. A positive correlation was found between the length of contact time and the acquisition of infection.     

Incidence of and risk factors for adverse events associated with distemper and rabies vaccine administration in ferrets

OBJECTIVE: To determine incidence of and risk factors for adverse events associated with distemper and rabies vaccine administration in ferrets. DESIGN: Retrospective cohort study. ANIMALS: 3,587 ferrets that received a rabies or distemper vaccine between January 1, 2002, and December 31, 2003. PROCEDURES: Electronic medical records were searched for possible vaccine-associated adverse events. Adverse events were classified by attending veterinarians as nonspecific vaccine reactions, allergic reactions, or anaphylaxis. Patient information that was collected included age, weight, sex, cumulative number of distemper and rabies vaccinations received, clinical signs, and treatment. The association between potential risk factors and occurrence of an adverse event was estimated with logistic regression. RESULTS: 30 adverse events were recorded. The adverse event incidence rates for administration of rabies vaccine alone, distemper vaccine alone, and rabies and distemper vaccines together were 0.51%, 1.00%, and 0.85%, respectively. These rates were not significantly different. All adverse events occurred immediately following vaccine administration and most commonly consisted of vomiting and diarrhea (52%) or vomiting alone (31%). Age, sex, and body weight were not significantly associated with occurrence of adverse events, but adverse event incidence rate increased as the cumulative number of distemper or rabies vaccinations received increased. In multivariate logistic regression analysis, only the cumulative number of distemper vaccinations received was significantly associated with the occurrence of an adverse event. CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL RELEVANCE: Results suggest that in ferrets, the risk of vaccine-associated adverse events was primarily associated with an increase in the number of distemper vaccinations.     

Live vaccine for oral immunization against avian encephalomyelitis of fowl

Strain C 2653 have proved to be applicable with good success as a live vaccine to treat avian encephalomyelitis. The virus is excreted by immunised animals up to roughly three weeks from immunisation and absorbed by non-immunised animals. Propagation and excretion of the immunisation virus will bring about sufficient immunity of the entire herd, within something between four and eight weeks from immunisation. Something between two and four per cent of the individuals in one herd are treated by crop instillation, which works well in cases of floor keeping. Yet, contact of all animals with the immunisation virus cannot be ensured, if the same technique is applied to animals kept in cages. Administration of the vaccine in pressure compensating vessels of the cage nipple lines or valve-operated drinking grooves in floor-keeping fowl houses will increase the amount by vaccine needed by the factor of 2.5, as compared to crop instillation, but the entire stock will be immunised in a shorter period of time, with 80 per cent of man-hours being saved. Application to floor-kept animals can be further simplified, which was demonstrated by the experimental prototype of a new drug proportioning device. Five times more vaccine will be needed, as compared to crop instillation, but that higher quantity is offset by more savings in man-hours.     

Prophylactic, postinfectious and neonatal vaccination against canine distemper in mink.

Mink were vaccinated against canine distemper and challenged with the Snyder Hill strain of canine distemper virus. Protection was acquired if vaccination took place more than a few days before challenge. If vaccination took place even early during incubation mortality was higher than in the unvaccinated controls. Full protection of kits may be achieved even at an age of 16 to 20 days provided the kits had not passively acquired immunity from their mothers. Kits surviving distemper because of passively acquired immunity may not actively acquire immunity during infection and may die at a later exposure.