Dear Lisa:
 
I am glad that Noobie is feeling better.
 
Regarding your questions about the need for more research - I couldn't
agree more.  Personally, I am looking into the possibility of a research
protocol to look at the prevalence for coronavirus antigen in cases
diagnosed as "IBD" to answer some of these questions.  However, research
these days is not simply a matter of identifying a problem and finding the
answer - research is expensive, and without a profit motive, most large
companies do not fund it.  Government agencies rarely award grants to
veterinary projects that are not related to human disease.
 
One additional comment - a difference of opinion on the veracity of the
diagnosis of a syndrome called "IBD" in ferrets does not mean that I am at
opposite ends of the spectrum with a practitioner on his/her practice of
ferret medicine.  Dr. Charlie Weiss and I, for example, are good friends
and have been for years.  We commonly argue about the legitimacy of the
diagnosis of IBD, yet this does not diminish my high regard for him (we
are currently working on a book chapter together for the new Hillyer and
Quesenberry, and I have invited to be part of a panel on the AFA's upcoming
meeting on Advances in Ferret Medicine in June.)  The bottom line is,
whether "IBD" is largely the result of chronic ECE and other infectious
diseases or not, the treatment is still the same, - dietary modification
and immunomodulation, usually steroids.  The contention is simply in the
etiology of this condition.  Just because he is incorrect in believing
that this is a food allergy - :) - doesn't mean he isn't one of the best
practitioners in the country.
 
Don't believe that I am saying that somebody is a bad practitioner because
they are buying into the theory of IBD as an discrete entity in ferrets -
it's just that I can't accept a new disease without proof.  I also don't
believe in holistic remedies without legitimate proof of efficacy.
 
With kindest regards,
Bruce H. Williams, DVM, DACVP
Chairman, AFIP Dept. of Telemedicine
Armed Forces Institute of Pathology
Washington, DC 20306-6000
(202) 782-2392
 
Ipsa scientia potestas est.
[Posted in FML issue 3288]