Dear Mjo:
 
>A pathologist at the Colorado State School of Veterinary Medicine
>discovered it was a virus which was spread by contact with the feces.
>The pathologist believed the disease is "out there" but was misdiagnosed
>as something else in the past.  The disease is called GER (gastro
>esophagus rupture) or GIR (gastro intestinal rupture).
 
Sorry, haven't heard of anything like that.  The signs that you describe
are consistent with a bleeding pyloric ulcer, which may be secondary to a
number of diseases, even some viruses, but generally aren't thought to be
caused by a virus.
 
With kindest regards,
Bruce Williams, dVM
[Posted in FML issue 3288]