14/01/2023
ATTENTION ALL FERRET PEEPS IN THE US & CANADA!
Please read this entire post, and then share!
If you have ferrets, or dogs for that matter, you should stay out of any pet store that now sells or has recently sold ferrets. Canine distemper is both HIGHLY CONTAGIOUS and almost always DEADLY. The author or this note is at the end, and that's all the information I have right now - I've only heard of this outbreak within the hour. I'll post updates as I come across them.
Thanks to Mustelid Madness Rescue for this excellent graphic!
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November 26, 2022
Dear Ferret Shelter Personnel and Ferret Owners:
As you likely have heard, there have been numerous cases of canine distemper in recently shipped ferrets from Marshall Farms. It has been reported in many locations in the US and now Canada. Stores may have put holds on selling ferrets, or may not be receiving them at this time.
This fall, one of the largest pet store chain that sells ferrets had a number of acutely sick and dying kits, that were recently received at the stores. They had diagnostics done and confirmed distemper. Reports back to Marshall Farms have led to epidemiologic tracing, diagnostic testing being conducted at universities and other veterinary laboratories. At this time, it appears a vaccine that they started using in late summer, along with factors at this time that are still unknown, appears to have become virulent (cause disease) and instead of protecting ferrets from distemper, it has caused distemper. The strain found in the dying ferrets is the same as that in the vaccine. Marshall Farms is continuing work on trying to figure out why this has happened. This is an extremely uncommon event that a licensed vaccine causes the disease it was designed to prevent.
Disease caused by the canine distemper virus appears to move much faster in these 7-9 week old kits, with the first signs of diarrhea and lose of appetite, and within 24 hours discharge from the eyes and nose, open-mouth breathing, dehydration, fever, and death within 48-72 hours. With intensive medical treatment, it may be possible to bring a ferret through this, however treatment needs to initiated at the first signs. The ferrets share the history of being shipped within the past 2 weeks.
So what can you do?
1. Ensure all your ferrets are current on their distemper vaccination.
2. Discourage owners from visiting stores or facilities where baby ferrets have recently arrived.
3. If they have to visit a store or facility – wear an N95 mask within the store. When you leave, disinfect hands, change clothes before going in your home (placing clothing, shoes immediately in the laundry), and if possible shower. The virus can also reside in our nasal passages, so consider doing a nasal rinse. Avoid direct contact (including breathing air space) with your ferrets preferably for several hours. Humans can carry the aerosolized virus on their hair, clothing, shoes, and in their noses. Surfaces such as inside your car should be disinfected (most that kill COVID kill distemper). The virus cannot survive without moisture on surfaces for very long, so drying, heat, sunlight all help naturally disinfect surfaces.
4. For shelters, use safety precautions like those you put in place for influenza or COVID prevention. Limit public access. Ferrets being surrendered – place in a quarantine area preferably with a separate entrance and air system. Vaccinate immediately. For personnel going into the quarantine room, use shoe covers, gowns or Tyvek-type suits, gloves, N95 masks, eye covering like safety glasses, and hair covers. Remove the PPE as you exit the room. As a common disease preventative for all diseases, shelter personnel are encouraged to wear scrub type dedicated clothing, that is clean and not contaminated by environments other than the immediate transportation used to get to the shelter. Better still would be to have staff change into dedicated clothing at the shelter itself.
5. Stay tuned – as we know more about all of this, it will be posted by the same means as you have received this.
Again, the best thing right now for everyone is to make sure all ferrets are current on their distemper vaccinations. There is a whole team working on solving this problem and stopping it.
Cathy A. Johnson-Delaney, DVM
Mukilteo, WA
