One topic which comes from time to time is how to SAFELY have the
freshest smelling home when ferrets are there.
 
The trick, of course, is to do so without hurting the ferrets, or
ferret caregivers for that matter.  Two ways of freshening the air
have repeatedly been discussed in several ferret sites during the past
in relation to injury suffered by ferrets: some of the perfumed air
fresheners, and appliances that generate high levels of ozone, such as
some ionic air "cleaners" and ozone generators.  High levels of ozone
damage a ferret's respiratory tract, but giving up breathing isn't
exactly an option for them or for us.  While we all want enough ozone
high above us in the ozone layer, having it in the air we daily breathe
is anything but a good idea.
 
There is a new piece of work which indicates that there are not really
any safe levels of ozone exposure:
http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2006-02/yu-sfn021606.php
 
In this press release from Yale they note:
>Even at very low levels, ozone--the principal ingredient in smog--
>increases the risk of premature death, according to a nationwide
>study to be published in the April edition of the journal
>Environmental Health Perspectives.
 
>The study, sponsored by the Environmental Protection Agency and the
>Centers for Disease Control, found that if a safe level for ozone
>exists, it is only at very low or natural levels and far below current
>U.S. and international regulations.  A 10 part- per-billion increase
>in the average of the two previous days' ozone levels is associated
>with a 0.30 percent increase in mortality.
 
The full article is available here as an html full text piece:
http://www.ehponline.org/members/2006/8816/8816.html
and here as a pdf:
http://www.ehponline.org/members/2006/8816/8816.pdf
 
If anyone wonders if ozone is dangerous to ferrets notice the
inflammation and tissue death (necrosis) in the study "Ozone-induced
Epithelial Injury in the Ferret Is Similar to Nonhuman Primates"
 
>We conclude that acute ozone exposure in ferrets induce severe
>epithelial necrosis and inflammation, results in similar epithelial
>injury compared with monkeys, and represents a better model of humans
>than rodents.
 
and multiple other studies using ferrets to see the damage suffered by
lungs and tracheas.  I wonder if any future studies will look at whether
high ozone levels irritate and cause tissue death in the lining of ferret
sinuses; right now the closest thing appear to be studies on causing
human sinus tissue sloughing with ozone for those with over-grown lining.
Food smells are important for encouraging ferrets to eat right (which is
one reason why ferrets who are very ill or who are on medications like
Furosemide/Frusemide/Lasix which dry the sinuses too greatly do best on
heated, soupy, smelly foods) so decreasing the sense of smell, besides
reducing the quality of a ferret's life since it is such an important
sense for them, could impact on their ability to eat well enough.
 
There are currently outdoor ozone pollution levels (now possibly being
revised), but more recently some states and countries are looking to
create limits for indoor generation of ozone according to current news
reports, so hopefully safer appliances will arise.
 
Categories snarfed from the EPA site:
http://cfpub.epa.gov/airnow/index.cfm?action=jump.jump_ozone
 
>Ozone can irritate your respiratory system
 
>Ozone can reduce lung function
 
>Ozone can aggravate asthma
 
>Ozone can inflame and damage cells that line your lungs
 
>Ozone may aggravate chronic lung diseases
 
>Ozone may cause permanent lung damage
 
>Ozone damage also can occur without any noticeable signs.  People
>who live in areas where ozone levels are frequently high may find
>that their initial symptoms go away over time-particularly when
>exposure to high ozone levels continues for several days.  Ozone
>continues to cause lung damage even when the symptoms have
>disappeared.
 
At this point in time, the best way to be sure that an air purifier
is safe and effective is to use a help filter air cleaner, and if it
has a charcoal filter that you can clean or change that will reduce
odors.
 
Other ways to reduce odors: change litter pots daily.  Clean bedding
weekly (It is safest to avoid fabric softener and to stick to detergents
without perfumes or dyes.) Do not bathe your ferret too often; when the
skin becomes too irritated the skin oils which carry the scent increase.
Some food ingredients which can be good for a ferret's health such as
fish oil, or egg yolk can add scent but they are healthy so it is better
to not purposely avoid them due to odor alone, though there are
alternatives since flax oil can provide omega 3 fatty acids, and there
are many other protein sources.  Using a high quality food reduces the
amount of food the ferret needs to eat to be satisfied, and therefore
reduces the amount of waste produced.  A good food is worth every penny.
 
From PubMed of the National Institutes of Health
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi
1: Wu ZX, Satterfield BE, Dey RD.
Substance P released from intrinsic airway neurons contributes to
ozone-enhanced airway hyperresponsiveness in ferret trachea.
J Appl Physiol. 2003 Aug;95(2):742-50. Epub 2003 May 2.
PMID: 12730146 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]
 
2: Alexander RP, Warrellow GJ, Eaton MA, Boyd EC, Head JC, Porter JR,
Brown JA, Reuberson JT, Hutchinson B, Turner P, Boyce B, Barnes D,
Mason B, Cannell A, Taylor RJ, Zomaya A, Millican A, Leonard J,
Morphy R, Wales M, Perry M, Allen RA, Gozzard N, Hughes B, Higgs G.
CDP840. A prototype of a novel class of orally active anti-inflammatory
phosphodiesterase 4 inhibitors.
Bioorg Med Chem Lett. 2002 Jun 3;12(11):1451-6.
PMID: 12031318 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]
 
3: Wu ZX, Maize DF Jr, Satterfield BE, Frazer DG, Fedan JS, Dey RD.
Role of intrinsic airway neurons in ozone-induced airway
hyperresponsiveness in ferret trachea.
J Appl Physiol. 2001 Jul;91(1):371-8.
PMID: 11408454 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]
 
4: Sterner-Kock A, Kock M, Braun R, Hyde DM.
Ozone-induced epithelial injury in the ferret is similar to nonhuman
primates.  Am J Respir Crit Care Med. 2000 Sep;162(3 Pt 1):1152-6.
PMID: 10988145 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]
and full text article here:
http://ajrccm.atsjournals.org/cgi/content/full/162/3/1152
 
5: McBride RK, Oberdoerster G, Marin MG.
Effects of ozone on the cholinergic secretory responsiveness of
ferret tracheal glands.
Environ Res. 1991 Jun;55(1):79-90.
PMID: 1855492 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]
 
Recommended webpages for information:
http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2006-02/yu-sfn021606.php
http://www.livescience.com/technology/060509_air_purifiers.html
(Note revisions, please.  The revision makes a person wonder if some
of the worst of the ionic air "cleaners" have been removed from the
market but it is unclear on which ones were tested and the researchers
can only speak about those they actually tested, so the results of the
Consumer Reports study below may still apply for the worst of the lot.
Still, new research indicates that the quoted ozone levels for safety
actually still cause pretty high increases in mortality.)
http://www.consumerreports.org:80/cro/appliances/ionizing-air-
cleaners-505/overview/index.htm
 
http://www.health.state.mn.us/divs/eh/air/ozone.htm
 
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/7391185/
 
http://www.webmd.com/content/article/104/107232.htm
 
http://www.mlmwatch.org/04C/Alpine/alpine.html
 
In 1998, volume 9, no. 4 in this AFA URL:
http://www.ferret.org/newsletter/AFRarch96_98.htm
Freddie Ann Hoffman M.D., a pediatrician and ferret advocate, has an
article on the risks of ozone
 
http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/idlh/10028156.html
 
http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/topics/ozone/
 
<http://www.healthgoods.com/Education/healthy_home_information/
indoor_air_quality/ozone_generators.htm>
 
<http://www.healthgoods.com/Education/healthy_home_information/
indoor_air_quality_short_course/air_purification.htm>
 
http://www.cal-iaq.org/iaqsheet.htm
(Scroll down.)
 
and there are more
 
-- Sukie (not a vet, and not speaking for any of the below in my
private posts)
Recommended health resources to help ferrets and the people who love
them:
Ferret Health List
http://www.smartgroups.com/groups/ferrethealth
FHL Archives
http://ferrethealth.org/archive/
AFIP Ferret Pathology
http://www.afip.org/ferrets/index.html
Miamiferrets
http://www.miamiferret.org/fhc/
International Ferret Congress Critical References
http://www.ferretcongress.org
[Posted in FML issue 5249]