>Hello All - I have never posted before, but appreciate reading and
>learning. I am just curious - can our little fuzzies be affected in
>any way by anthrax in its various forms? Sorry to those of you who
>already know such things and for my ignorance. Thanks,
 
Dear X -
 
Yes, ferrets can be infected by anthrax, but carnivores are considered to
be fairly resistant hosts.
 
What many people do not realize is that anthrax is not a new disease, and
is seen occasionally in livestock (far less resistant to the disease) in
the Southwest U.S., and in many other parts of the world.  The bacterium
lives in the soil and there can be blooms of bacteria in areas with
alkaline soil when draught is followed by a heavy rain or flooding.  The
spores which the bacteria forms are extremely resistant to environmental
conditions, and protects it during the dry periods.  Some spores can even
live through the tanning process when infected animals are used to make
leather (there have actually been outbreaks of cutaneous anthrax from
imported bongo drums from the Caribbean years ago, believe it or not.)
Cutaneous anthrax used to be common in people working with sheep -
possibly the most sensitive host) and was called "woolsorter's disease).
 
Anthrax actually makes a very poor biological agent - it does not spread
readily, it takes a tremendous amount of work to make a lethal concoction
of it to get past the bodies defenses, and humans and ferrets are pretty
resistant to its effects overall.
 
I don't think that you have much to worry about here.
 
With kindest regards,
Bruce Williams, DVM
 
[Sukie note: I don't recall the actual number but there was an inverted
pyramid on a news show about the topic recently.  The number of people
tested in the U.S. so far is in the tens of thousands, the number who
were close enough to have actual strong risk was in the hundreds, the
number who tested positive for exposure but did not get enough spores to
be infected was a few dozen, the number so far actually infected in the
U.S. was 6, and the number dead was 1 (one).  The panic is a tempest in
a teapot when seen in relation to the reality.  Yes, it is serious if
caught and must be treated then -- though it's hard to catch; yes, it can
kill, so can garden-variety influenza which is worlds easier to catch and
to spread around... BTW, Bruce is a vet and pathologist with the A.F.
Institute of Pathology, but I'm neither -- I'm just trying to stay a bit
informed.]
[Posted in FML issue 3576]