[log in to unmask] wrote on 3/4/2004, 2:45 AM:
 
>I have some questions about the AFA ADV Research Fund, and I am hoping
>someone on this list can answer them.       <SNIP>
> My questions are:
> 1. When will the money be sent?  and
> 2. Is the AFA still collecting donations or not?
 
Those are some good questions.
 
I am not a spokes person for the AFA, and can not answer the first
question, but I can say that I have been told several times by several
different AFA Officers that since the end of 2002 the AFA is no longer
soliciting funds for ADV research.
 
Last July, Mary McCarty posted to the ADV list, in part "There was a
change in Health Affair Chairs around the time we decided to stop having
a specific ADV fund and there was some miscommunication on the status of
the money." This quote is taken from the ADVList message cited in the
original message.
 
So, I would guess that the AFA website has just not been updated in the
past year, or at least not the pages relating to the ADV Research Fund.
 
Perhaps (and I hope) the same is true on the status of the fund itself.
 
It has been several years since the committee met to decide how to divide
the money, so maybe the money has been sent to the Researchers, and it
just hasn't been announced.  We can hope that is the case.  Mary assured
us last July that the money would be dispersed shortly.  I know that the
many people who contributed to the fund would like to know it has be put
toward its intended purpose.
 
>I hope I'm not starting another bruhaha here but I worry that the
>subject of ADV has faded a bit and that we, as ferret companions, are
>becoming more complacent.  I hope I'm not way off base and perhaps this
>might start a bit of dialogue regarding ADV and the research that is
>being done.
 
That is a very good point.  There are always new members to the FML,
and they may not have heard about ADV, and how devastating it can be to
ferrets.  As someone who has lived with the disease for over 4 years now,
I can attest to how tragic it can be.  I lost another of my ADV+ ferrets,
Jasmine, in January.
 
However, with proper precautions, it can be largely preventable.
 
For those not familiar with ADV, it is a virus that causes an auto immune
response in the ferret's body.  It is spread through bodily fluids like
blood, urine, feces and saliva.  Currently, there is no cure, vaccine or
treatment for it.  And, ferrets with ADV can spread the virus before they
show any symptoms.
 
For more information about ADV, and links to sites about the disease, see:
http://www.ferretadv.com
 
--
Danee
International Ferret Congress Health Issues Coordinator
http://ferretcongress.org
ADV - If your ferret hasn't been tested, you don't know!
For more information visit: http://www.ferretadv.com
[Posted in FML issue 4442]