Greetings from Fritter in her private hospital ward (the master
bathroom) with its many toys and plates of treats. Greetings
also from Hjalmar and Meltdown who are asleep hugging each other,
and Ruffle who is rearranging toys among the hammock, hanging
boxes, and water bottle.
The reasons we will be testing for Aleutian is because there is
some evidence that it may be able to increase a ferret's chances
of developing lymphosarcoma or chronically enlarged spleen and
both have been seen in our critters. Caused by a parvovirus,
Aleutian is known to be found in mink, ferrets, skunks, raccoons,
and foxes. Symptoms can include persistent infection, mild
lesions showing microscopic tissue changes (histopathologic), and
an increased amount of immunoglobulins in the blood. In some
cases general malaise and weight loss have been seen. A New
Zealand study of severe symptoms which sometimes happen found
(among others) pregressive posterior paralysis, muscle wasting,
urinary incontinence, temors, lesions of the meninges (membranes
which cover brain and spinal cord), and death precipitated by
added stresses. In ferrets it can enlarge the thymus, and infect
liver as well as enlarging the spleen, inflamming lymph nodes,
and setting up damage in kidneys, lungs, and muscle tissue of the
heart. Usually in ferrets severe symptoms are not seen and
progression of the disease is slow compared with other animals
such as mink. There are tests but the antibody test for minks
does not always work in ferrets so histopathologic testing of
target areas such as lymph nodes or target organs may be
necessary.
Spontaneous appearance of Aleutian has been seen in colonies,
very likely because it does have so many possible carriers that
it is not uncommon in the environment. Spreading can occur
through most bodily fluids or waste. Because it is rather common
among ranched mink avoidance of ferrets raised near mink has been
mentioned as a precaution.
As of the publication of Fox's BIOLOGY AND DISEASES OF THE FERRET
by Lea and Febiger in 1988 (James G. Fox, DVM is Director of
Comparative Medicine at MIT and book is HIGHLY recommended) no
treatments or vaccines were known. Supportive therapy as
symptoms arise is advised with a guarded prognosis given.
We do not know any figures on rate at which this parvovirus is
seen in ferrets. As of a few years ago it sounded like there was
great room for study on the topic: for instance, does it
actually make lymphosarcoma more likely and if so by how much,
can a vaccine and/or treatment be developed, why do a few animals
have such severe symptoms, which (of many possible) sterilization
methods for environment work and which are possible for
homeowners to use, how long does Aleutian survive in different
conditions found in the home (i.e. tile floor, linoleum, bedding,
carpets, cages, etc.?
Life is going well here. Just got Frit through another virus and
she's back to hiding mousies and playing catch me if you can.
It's amazing how much progress has happened in treating cancer in
ferrets in just a few years. Four years ago we lost Helix in
only a few weeks, but with Frit we are looking at possible long
term survival which seems to have very little pain. Of course,
when she indicates that it is time to give up we'll help her out
with that but at this point we have a cancer patient who has been
around with it for almost 10 weeks and is still dancing and
pigging out.
Have you noticed that big ferret sneezes before head rubbings and
face washings push extra musk from the ear glands? Just put your
face next to an ear when it happens.
BTW, if your ferret ever has a persistent and bad runs after a
long course of antibiotics the needed intestinal bacteria may
have been killed off. We've found that (just as in humans) a bit
of yogurt with active cultures can correct the problem.
[As an addenda, one time when Nicia was sick, she went on
rather strong antibiotics, seemed better, but wasn't putting
weight back on and was remaining rather lethargic. We figgered
that the antibiotic might be upsetting her stomach, so after
a quick consult with the vet, we discontinued the medication,
and she bounced right back up to the weight she should have been.
Turns out the antibiotic is known to cause stomach upsets in
some animals. I can look up the name of the antibiotic if
anyone's interested]
The Weasels Crandall [log in to unmask]
[Posted in FML 0154]
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