Here is a discussion which delves into many of the aspects on this
terrible problem in the only (1) location which is encountering it:
 
http://www.smartgroups.com/message/viewdiscussion.cfm?
gid=1423922&messageid=12050
 
BTW, there has already been someone off-list needlessly using the word
"ebola" so I stayed up and did some digging.  These will ease fears:
 
http://www.brettrussell.com/personal/truth_about_dogs___cats.html
 
http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/dvrd/spb/mnpages/dispages/ebola.htm
 
*Possible* ebola vectors if exposed well enough (Note that no members
of Carnivora are in there and members have been tested in the wild --
yes, I checked.):
 
primates
rodents
bats
insects
(AGAIN: note that members of Carnivora like ferrets, cats, and dogs are
not included.)
 
Mentioned repeatedly as most likely of those postulated if exposed well
enough:
primates
 
Personally, I doubt the shelter is feeding the ferrets, cats, and dogs
diseased OW monkeys, apes, or prosimians... and of course there would
have to be an exposure and that is NOT easy to come by outside parts
of Africa (though it has happened with the Reston strain that is an
unusually gentle strain of the disease).  Plus, there isn't even at this
point any reason to think that any members of Carnivora could get ebola
let alone pass it along, and there would have to be that exposure...
 
Yes, I have been hitting the internet and books tonight.
 
Oh, and ferrets have been purposely exposed to Hanta without catching
it according to Fox's text, and that presents differently, anyway, in
those species which get it...
 
Fire engine red presentation tends to make a person think of marked
capillary dilation.
 
I was not able to find any hemolytic viruses which ferrets get, but
there are some bacterial possibilities (esp. salmonella in the way
it presents in some according to Fox's text), there was a past mutant
strain of coccidia which had massive sudden blood of the protozoa
causing intestinal perforation, etc.  There is some info on these in
the discussion.  Right now I am hoping that a pathologist or two may be
around despite the holidays to chime in.
 
Meanwhile, use precautions and isolation of that SINGLE (1) affected
location in case it is something contagious, and test, test, test.  It
may not be anything contagious, but in case a new nasty strain of
something is showing up as happened years ago with that mutant coccidia
strain it's best to isolate it, find it, and treat it, then continue
isolation for a while (months or whatever pathologists and infectious
disease experts advise) to be sure it is truly gone.
[Posted in FML issue 4745]