>minor) war but I have to ask: If you do find your ferret has ADV, what
>are you going to do?  Yeah, you might be a little more carefull and not
>have non ADV ferrets around you or yours.  We have had ADV ferrets
>around ours and never had a problem.  Luck?  Maybe, possibly, but still
>the question remains: what good comes from the testing if NOTHING can
>be done?
 
Great question, Ben!
 
We all know that ADV is a fatal disease with no vaccine or cure.  So,
IMO, the biggest reason to test is so we can prevent the spread of ADV.
Just think - if everyone tested their ferrets and quarantined their
positives, this disease could be eradicated within the next 10 years.
Wouldn't that be great?
 
By testing your ferrets, you know whether or not they are healthy (ADV
positives, while healthy-looking at that point in time, can be shedding
the disease to other ferrets).  You wouldn't want to be the cause of
someone else's ferret becoming ADV positive, right?
 
Medical decisions can also be affected by a ferret's ADV status - for
one, surgeries can be riskier (some ADV positive ferrets have clotting
problems).
 
You mention that your ferrets have been around ADV positive ferrets and
are okay - I'm assuming you have retested them after each exposure?
 
I would agree with you that so far, your ferrets are very lucky.  But
why even put them at risk?  Your choice, of course, but I couldn't live
with myself if I caused my ferrets to become sick or caused someone
else's to become ill and/or die.
 
And things *can* be done by testing.  If you find yourself with a
positive, by quarantining them you are preventing the spread of this
disease.  You are also able to make better informed medical decisions
and, when the time comes, can help research by sending tissue to the
researchers.
 
As a shelter and a breeder who dealt with an ADV positive ferret and
had my shelter/ferretry shut-down for 3.5 years, I will *never* let an
untested ferret around my kids.  There are so many health issues out
there that we cannot prevent, why would we not do everything to prevent
the ones that we can?  It's simply not worth the risk, IMO.
 
Hope this helps answer your question!
 
Mary
 
**********************
Novel Beginnings Ferretry
http://www.geocities.com/novelbeginnings/
**********************
[Posted in FML issue 5373]