>>They say that some ferrets that test positive for ADV antibodies may never
>>come down with the full spectrum disease.  I privately question this...
>>did they not say this about AIDS all along?  But if the person is alive
>>long enough to contract the disease does not every person that tests for
>>HIV eventually come down with full blown AIDS?
 
Linda wrote:
>Excellent point.  At the Ferret Symposium in Toronto, Dr. Williams said
>that it may take 18-24 months for symptoms to show and that something has
>changed about the disease in the last few years.  It could be that in the
>past, the average incubation period used to be several years, and most
>ferrets died of other causes before the disease could show itself.  But
now the virus has mutated to act faster and/or spread more easily and/or
>be more virulent.  Dr. Williams said that a diagnosis of ADV today is
>indeed a death sentence.  It was very sobering and frightening moment."
 
First, thank you, Linda, for taking such wonderful notes at the symposium!
I would like to attempt to clarify a point here, but I'm not even sure that
I'm correct, so I'd like Dr. Williams to respond when he returns to the
list.  (I'm SO glad he's on it!)
 
Testing positive for ADV simply means that a ferret has been exposed to the
virus and has developed antibodies to it.  I have been told that this does
not necessarily mean that the ferret will develop Aleutian Disease, and
that, at least in the past, very few ferrets actually became ill with AD.
Therefore, a ferret can test positive yet still live a normal life
(although that ferret *may* be able to transmit the virus at some point -
when they can transmit it is one of the many things that isn't known.)
However, once a ferret is ill with AD, it is a death sentence, but as Linda
said, usually a ferret will die of something else before AD can take it's
life.
 
Second, Linda's post "jogged" my memory about a comment Dr. Williams made
to me at the symposium.  (I am quite old and the memory often needs
jogging...).  A group of us were "relaxing" after Saturday's presentations,
and Dr. Williams and I were discussing ADV.  I "believe" he told me that
it's a misconception that ferrets do not die of AD, and that they always
die of something else due to the immune system going haywire.  I believe he
told me that they can die of AD.  I didn't question him further on that,
and now I wish I had.  (To be honest, I felt guilty asking him about ADV
at all, during a time he was supposed to be relaxing).  Dr. Williams, could
you comment on this please?
 
Thank you,
 
Judy
[Posted in FML issue 3190]