Dear Kristeen:
 
>With the ECE thread that has been going I have a question that has always
>bothered me... Is it possible for a ferret to get ECE more than once.
 
Well, definitive studies haven't been done, but it is unlikely.  Most
coronavirus infections, when cleared, give long-lasting immunity.
 
It is common however, for ferrets who have apparently recovered from ECE
to develop diarrhea weeks to months later.  Rather than a recrudescence
of the viral infection it is usually the result of some form of stress,
possibly dietary in nature, to a injured, as of yet unrecovered intestine.
Doesn't mean that they have gotten the disease again, it is just that it
is difficult for some animals to recover totally from.
 
With kindest regards,
Bruce Williams, DVM
[Posted in FML issue 3295]