Dear Depressed Mom,
Let me start by saying how deeply sorry I am to read about your
situation.  I know what you must be feeling and going through.  I
have been living it now for 5 years.
 
There is so much I could tell you, and so much I want to say.  But, as
there is a limit on length here, I will try to say just what I consider
most important.  Please feel free to write to me privately, though, if
you want, and to consider joining the ADVList on Yahoo Groups.  The
information for the group is:
 
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    http://groups.yahoo.com/group/advferret/
 
The ADVList is a group of people who are interested in learning more
about ADV, and in helping to educate others.  We also discuss ways of
raising funds for research, and, as some of us have ADV positive ferrets,
we also provide a support group for each other.  It is not a real busy
group most of the time, but it does have many useful resources for people
concerned about ADV.
 
Next, I would tell you that you will most likely find your self going
through a grieving process for your ferrets.  You will likely go through
all the stages, including denial, guilt, anger, and the rest.  It will
get better over time, but you will never totally be free of it.  And
then, unfortunately, one day your ferret will leave you for the Bridge,
and you will go through it all over again.  Do not try to deny the
feelings.  Accept them, and work through them.  They are real.
 
Finally, I will try to answer your questions as best I can.  Understand,
there is so much that isn't known about ADV, so many questions where
there is no definitive answer.  To be very blunt, in many cases the
answers are just theories, and not proven facts.
 
Your first question about length of time the virus can survive - ADV is a
parvo virus which is an extremely hardy class of viruses, and can live
for long periods outside a host.  It is not know how long it can survive,
but it has been shown to still be viable (able to infect) after 2 years.
 
Cleaning a house after ADV is also very difficult.  Houses have many
porous surfaces in them, which can not be thoroughly disinfected.
However, this does not mean you can never have ferrets again.
 
Consider this - the world we live in is full of germs.  Every day you are
exposed to all kinds of contagious diseases.  However, the normal immune
system is able to fight off these germs, unless a large number of a
particular type are present at once.  And, while we don't know how many
particles of ADV virus are needed to infect a healthy ferret, it is most
likely more then a few.
 
At the Symposium in Las Vegas, Dr. Stevenson ( a real ADV expert) was a
speaker.  One evening a group of us accompanied her to dinner, and a lot
of the conversation revolved around how to clean up after ADV and how
long to wait.
 
WHile there is no proof of what the answer is, she felt that waiting 3 to
6 months after thoroughly cleaning and disinfecting would be sufficient.
Her suggestions for cleaning were:
 
1) Throw out all bedding and toys
 
2) If your cages are made completely of non-porous material and are in
good condition, clean them thoroughly with a strong parvocide.  Make
sure any solid fecal matter is completely removed, as treating that with
parvocide is not sufficient.  If they are in poor condition, are made in
part of wood or other porous materials, or if hardened fecal matter can
not be completely removed, then destroy them.
 
3) Clean all walls and tile floors with parvocide.
 
4) Clean all carpets and upholstered furniture with a steam cleaner.  The
steam cleaner will not kill the virus, but the steam and soap will loosen
dirt particles (and thus virus particles) and the suction will then draw
them out and into the cleaner's receptacle.  Adding a parvocide to the
cleaner solution will also be helpful.  However, parvocides are only
completely effective on non porous surfaces.  If any carpeting or
furniture is old and you can afford to replace it with new, that is even
better.
 
5) Any painted surfaces you can repaint, do so.  Paint will seal in
particles that may have been on the surface.
 
6) Hardwood floors can be covered with polyurethane.  Again, this will
act as a seal.
 
There is no guarantee that all this will work, but Dr. Stevenson felt
that it probably would.
 
Here is something else to keep in mind.  Unlike many contagious diseases,
an ADV+ ferret is not always in a shedding (contagious) state.  Many
ferrets with ADV never become contagious.  The problem is, there is no
way of knowing when a ferret with ADV is contagious, and so for safety's
sake, they have to be treated as if they always are.
 
In order for an ADV+ ferret to be contagious, the virus must be in his
fluids (saliva, urine, blood, feces, etc.) and that fluid has to be left
on something - like if he pees on the floor.  Much of the time, the virus
is in the organ tissues, and is not free in the fluids.
 
Your second question involved the pet photographer.  Is she someone who
photographs a lot of ferrets?  If so, I would certainly warn her of the
situation, and offer to pay to replace the props.  There is no way you
can insure she will do it, but if she regularly works with ferrets, she
probably cares about them, and will understand the need to take
precautions.
 
Even if she does not do a lot of ferrets, I would still contact her and
let her know.  But, in that case, I would not be surprised if she just
blows it off.  Regardless, you should tell her, though, and try to
impress on her the dangers of this disease.
 
Your third question concerned the possibility of you carrying the virus
on your person, and infecting other ferrets.  Theoretically, this could
happen, but it is fairly easy to take precautions so it doesn't.
 
I have people who own ferrets come to my home, and when they do, I
recommend that they take off their shoes outside, and not bring their
shoes into my house.  Beyond that, I advise that when they get home,
they strip off their clothing and take it straight to the laundry room
(providing their ferrets can't get in to the laundry room, and make sure
the clothing gets laundered before their ferrets can be exposed to it.
I also advise them to shower before handling their own ferrets.
 
I sometimes go to the ferret shows to visit, and I also visit the homes
of people who own ferrets.  When I go out, I make sure that I shower and
dress just before going, and I do not handle any of my kids.  I keep
several pairs of shoes that I do not wear in my house, either, and store
them where my ferrets can not get to them.  I do generally hesitate to
handle other people's ferrets, though, even though I may want to.
Despite the fact I take many precautions, it is always in the back of my
mind that there is always that small possibility of contamination.
 
Also, keep in mind that several shelters have managed to house some
positive ferrets, out of necessity, and still maintain a negative
population.  If a shelter can do that, it should be possible to clean
things up so you can go in public without fear.
 
One thing I would advise is that you be very careful when taking one of
your ferrets to the vet.  Even though it is in my ferrets' records that
they are ADV+, my vet may not always read that, and may not remember.
So, I always remind him when he is examining one of my positive kids, so
he can also take extra precautions.  I also sit away from other clients
and their pets, and never let any one handle my kids.
 
Your last question concerned how prevalent ADV is.  I really wish we
knew.  People have tried to come up with some idea, but unfortunately,
many people do not want to say that they have a ferret that is ADV+, and
many more people have never tested and just don't now.  Just as you chose
to post anonymously, many people are afraid of saying anything about
their status publicly.
 
And, that is a sad thing.  It would be very good if we had some idea of
just how prevalent the disease is.
 
Before I close, there is one thing I have to ask.  You indicated you used
the Avecon Quicktest.  Did you run the test with blood or with saliva?
The instructions indicate that blood can be used, but when it is, there
seems to be a high incidence of false positives.  So, if you ran the
test with blood, I would strongly suggest retesting.  Actually, I would
strongly suggest retesting, regardless.  I do not consider a ferret a
true positive until there have been at least 2 tests with positive
results, as there is always a possibility of a mistake.  However, to
be safe, continue to take precautions as though you were sure you had
ferrets with ADV.
 
Finally, while it is true that there is no cure for ADV, there are ways
to slow the progress of the disease, and treatments that can alleviate
symptoms.  O I would be happy to discuss some of those things either
directly with you, or in another post (but not tonight).
 
Take care, and know that you are not alone.  There are people out here
who know what you are going through, and who will lend you support and
help you in any way that we can.
 
Take care.
 
--
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 4490]