>Wow, and you guys are not alone, I assure you.  This is probably one
>of the hardest decisions to make when you've had to experience ADV in
>your home.  Everyone who has had to deal with it has had to make this
>decision.  It's a personal one, because unfortunately there is some lack
>of research about how "risky" it is to other ferrets to bring them into a
>home right after it has had adv ferrets living in it.  But there is lots
>of anecdotal info out there, and some people who had had long standing
>experience in this area to refer to.
 
I think the information you gave was very good, Wolfy.  As you said,
right now, no one really knows for certain just how contagious ADV is
and how easily it is spread.
 
I do not really have any personal experience to relay on maintaining a
population of both positives and negatives.  Although I do have both,
by the time I knew I had a problem, all of my ferrets had been exposed,
and I assumed they would all become positive, so I made no effort to
separate the positives from the negatives.
 
To my surprise, though, that did not happen.  After the initial
infection, the ones that were negative have remained negative.
Apparently, some ferrets have a natural immunity to ADV, or are able to
fight the virus off.  After 3 1/2 years, I still have no new positives.
I still retest about every 4 months, because I don't know if the immunity
is lifelong or not.  Currently, after some losses and some additions, I
have 21 ferrets, with 7 that are ADV+.  All additions to my population
have either been ferrets that were ADV+, or from homes with ADV+ ferrets,
so they were already exposed.
 
As to safety of bringing in ferrets to a home after all ADV+ ferrets have
passed, there is, unfortunately, no definite answer.  However, several of
us talked with Dr. Mary Ann Stevenson about this over dinner at the
Symposium 2002, and she felt that if you thoroughly cleaned your house
and waited a few months (she suggested 3 to 6 months) after the last
positive was gone, that it would probably be safe.
 
Here were some of her suggestions for preparing for new ferrets after
have ADV+ ferrets:
 
1) If possible, remove all carpet and rugs - carpeting is almost
impossible to properly clean, and also the most likely source of
lingering ADV germs, especially if the ferrets have ever pottied on
it.  Remember - bleach and parvocides are not effective in cleaning
porous surfaces like carpeting and cloth.  They are only completely
effective on hard surfaces.
 
2) Throw out any ferret bedding and toys and replace with new.
 
3) Thoroughly clean all cages, litter pans, and floor surfaces with
a parvocide and/or bleach solution.  When possible, do not rinse the
solution off and allow it to air dry, or air dry, and then rinse.
Before using the parvocide, make sure all solid waste material has been
removed.  Soaking dried on poop in parvocide is not always effective,
the dried on poop needs to be removed.  If you have hard wood floors,
consider refinishing the floors and covering with clear polyurethane.
This will protect your floors against future damage, and seal in any
germs.
 
Dr. Stevenson felt that upholstered furniture could also be a potential
problem.  Not everyone can afford to refurnish their house just to get
new ferrets, although replacing any upholstered furniture would be
preferable.  However, if furniture isn't replaced, she suggested at
least having it thoroughly steam cleaned once, and maybe even twice.
Hopefully, as more research is done on ADV, we will learn more about
how the disease is spread, and just how contagious it really is.  Until
then, being as careful as possible is the best we can do.
 
Danee
ADV - If your ferret hasn't been tested, you don't know!
For more information visit:
http://www.geocities.com/russiansmom
To find out how you can help visit:
http://www.geocities.com/help4adv/index.htm
[Posted in FML issue 4116]