Posted by s_simpson on April 24, 2003 at 09:00:09:
Hey all,
Well, it finally happened -- bad reactions to a rabies vaccine. My two albinos both had bad reactions and the female nearly died (severe anaphylaxis). Definitely not a fun experience.
Two points/questions. The vet observed, and I concurred, that white ferrets (albinos or black-eyed whites) seem more prone to adverse reactions. Anyone else have experience that would support/refute this?
Secondly... Both ferrets still seem to be vomiting periodically. The male albino is back to his normal happy-go-lucky, dumb-but-happy persona (although he has vomitted once or twice in the past three weeks). The female seems to be vomitting more frequently -- maybe two/three times a week. Has anyone else seen this sort of prolonged reaction? She's lost considerable weight (she refused to eat for about 4 or 5 days following the reaction), so the vomitting is a little more worrisome at this point.
For what its worth, I've decided that the female albino will NEVER get a vaccination again. The risks just aren't worth it. Moreover, I'm seriously considering whether the risk is worth it for the others as well. It seems to me to be a risk trade-off -- the risk of them biting a stranger and being destroyed versus the risk of them dying from a vaccine reaction.
