As bovine spongiform encephalopathy in cattle is thought to cause new
variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease in people, then it seems likely it
could affect other animals, namely, ferrets.
 
The symptoms in cattle are as follows: (from UK Ministry of Agric. website)
 
Symptoms of BSE
The clinical symptoms of BSE are varied.  Most cattle with BSE show a
gradual development of symptoms over a period of several weeks or even
months, although some can deteriorate very rapidly.  Only a small
proportion of affected cattle show what would be considered typical "mad
cow" signs.  Most suspects show several (but not all) of the following
symptoms if they are observed closely enough: apprehensiveness,
nervousness, reluctance to cross concrete, turn corners, enter yards, go
through doorways or permit milking ,occasional aggression directed at other
cattle or humans ,manic kicking when milked , head shyness, with head held
low, high stepping gait, particularly hind legs , difficulties in rising ,
skin tremors , loss of condition, weight or milk yield
 
The symptoms of nvCJD in humans are as follows: (from WHO,
http://www.who.int/inf-fs/en/fact180.html)
 
Clinical Features
Early in the illness, patients usually experience psychiatric symptoms,
which most commonly take the form of depression or, less often, a
schizophrenia-like psychosis.  Unusual sensory symptoms, such as
"stickiness" of the skin, have been experienced by half of the cases early
in the illness.  Neurological signs, including unsteadiness, difficulty
walking and involuntary movements, develop as the illness progresses and,
by the time of death, patients become completely immobile and mute.
 
It is believed that the disease is spread among livestock mainly through
feed that contains meat and bone meal.  Presumably, humans contract the
disease by eating beef from the infected cattle.
 
Purina Mills has stopped using ruminant meat and bone meal in feed.
Whether the feed in question is livestock feed only or all feed isn't clear
to me.  However, most ferrets aren't fed Purina, in any case, but rather
specialized ferret chow.  Have ferret feed producers considered the
possiblity of BSE contamination?  I would like to suggest that FML members
associated with ferret feed producers give this some thought and post their
comments on the FML.  And I'd like to suggest also that people working on
BSE/nvCJD research consider posting if they have any studies or other
findings regarding domestic animals and these pathogens.
 
Please post comments on the FML--please don't email me privately.
[Posted in FML issue 3310]