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Author wrote:
>Did anyone see the article on CNN's website http://www.cnn.com/HEALTH/
concerning SARS and ferrets?
 
As many people have already observed, there is a tremendous difference
between being able to be infected with a disease, and carrying the
disease.  The Nature article has shown that ferrets can be experimentally
infected with this coronavirus - that doesn't mean that they pose any
significant risk for hmumans.
 
The Nature article has identified two species - cats and ferrets - that
can potentially be used as research models to study this disease, not
that they are any potential reservoir for this disease.
 
We must all remember, that there have been no identified cases of SARS in
ferrets, we don't know if they can be naturally infected by a human host,
how transmissible the virus is between humans and ferrets, and many other
things.
 
At this point, to consider SARS to be any significant risk is extremely
premature, and I for one, am not losing any sleep over it.
 
With kindest regards,
Bruce Williams, DVM
 
[Quick Sukie Note:  For those few who don't yet know, Dr. Williams is
very possibly the world's best veterinary pathologist for ferrets.]
[Posted in FML issue 4318]