Shona read
>One very avoidable one is bovine tuberculosis.  Cases of this have
>almost stopped appearing in ferrets in the U.S. now that almost no one
>gives raw milk from cattle, goats, etc. or raw ungulate meat to ferrets.
>It is a larger problem in some areas where that practice still occurs.
>It's not common but it is an avoidable death sentence.
 asked:
>Which areas are you referring to?
 
In areas where bovine TB breaks out (which can happen pretty much
anywhere with susceptible animals once the disease gets introduced though
it doesn't show up in a smattering of Pacific Islands) then the raw milk
or raw meat can pass it on to ferrets.  Ferrets are not the only mustelid
which is susceptible.  See
http://www.woodland-trust.org.uk/campaigns/briefingsmore/badgers.htm
for example.  Nor are mustelids the only other group involved.  In
http://www.spc.int/rahs/Manual/BOVINE/TBBOVINEE.htm notice "
Cattle and buffaloes are the principal hosts for Mycobacterium bovis and
are responsible for maintaining the disease.  M. bovis can also cause
disease in deers, pigs and humans and, occasionally, in horses, dogs,
cats and sheep.  In New Zealand, the introduced Australian possum is an
important reservoir of infection."
 
In other words it really is not a good practice to share raw milk or meat
with ferrets unless you are danged sure that your ungulates are free of
the disease, and, yes, it also means that people should be getting
regular vet care for their ungulates, too.  I heard a sad tale from a vet
a few years ago of a person's cherished and gorgeous goat who got it; I
don't know the source of infection.
 
Herbals: when considering herbals also take into account the risks of
the ingredients.  For example licorice root is something you really want
to avoid.  Although it perks them up it does so in a way that causes
cardiovascular problems and can even cause thromboses (thrown clots)
which can look like a range of things depending on where the clot lands,
for instance such a clot can kill a kidney, or cause loss of function of
a limb, or look like stroke, etc.
 
Miracle cures aren't either, and an event which has not been repeated
over the years is certainly no proof that a compound had anything to do
with the event.
 
-- Sukie
http://news.zdnet.com/2100-1009_22-5560664.html?tag=nl.e589 (Something
everyone should know.  Hey, if folks won't clean up their machines they
should hire services which do, or stay off the internet, or leave
Windows.)
http://www.wired.com/news/mac/0,2125,66460,00.html (Eat your own
cooking if you keep burning it, or be smart and figure out how to work
forward from alternatives that actually work?)
http://www.gohomeproductions.co.uk/video/ghp_paperback_believer.mov (a
mashup to smile about -- related trivia: the Bs and DJ  both performed
for the first time on the Ed Sullivan Show in the same show episode)
[Posted in FML issue 4779]