Maya asked:
>can anyone explain me, in few lines, what is ADV ?
 
ADV stands for Aleutians Disease Virus.  It is a contagious virus that
is believed to be highly contagious.  There is no vaccine for ADV, no
treatment protocol, and no cure.  ADV can be deadly.  Not all ferrets
that get ADV get sick from it, but many do, and it can be a horrible
death.  Many people compare ADV to HIV and AIDS in humans.  There are
some excellent website that deal with ADV.  One is White Russian's
website.  The URL is:
 http://www.geocities.com/russiansmom
 
Another is Wolfy's ADV - Straight Up at:
 http://www.geocities.com/wolfysluv/adv-straight.html
 
And, on the subject of ADV, Roger was correct in Sunday's FML.  It is a
killed virus that usually is used in a vaccine, to stimulate the body to
make antibodies against the virus.  I misspoke on that.  However, the
fact remains that ADV causes and autoimmune reaction in the body of the
infected ferret.  The ferret's immune system then creates non-neutralizing
antibodies that do nothing to fight the virus.  Instead, those antibodies
are usually what cause most of the damage to vital organs associated with
ADV.
 
Danee
ADV - If your ferret hasn't been tested, you don't know!
For more information visit  http://www.geocities.com/russiansmom
[Posted in FML issue 3845]