Dear X:
 
Those are a lot of questions.  Let me see if I can run down most of them.
 
Quarantine once an animal in the house is useless due to the fact that
ferrets may shed up to six months, and the virus is infectious enough to
be spread on clothes, hands, ferret feet, etc - once it's in the house -
everyone who has not had the disease will get it.  Of course, the severity
of symptoms will vary based on a number of factors - the animals to worry
most about are the older ones with other diseases.  It sounds as if Ruby
is doing well and should recover.
 
While immunity is lifelong, the disease predisposes ferrets to the
development of a condition known as inflammatory bowel disease, a disease
of the immune system which may be triggered by coronavirus infection.
There is an article in the current issue of "Ferrets" on it - I have
permission to reprint the article on my web site after a period of 60
days (ostensibly after this issue has left the newsstand.)  About 20% of
ECE cases develop IBD to the point where treatment is needed.
 
Stay with the baby food, lots of water, and the antibiotics; when the
stool starts to firm up, then gradually move back to a kibble diet.
 
With kindest regards,
Bruce Williams, DVM
[Posted in FML issue 3748]