For E.L.:

SARS is a specific Asian coronavirus which is able to be caught by a
range of mammals. If memory serves it was the practice of importing
certain viverrids from remote regions of a neighboring country into
China for exotic meals which caused the first abrupt spread in humans.
It is a severe disease (There is an under statement.) and too often
tends to be rapidly fatal. We don't have it here in the U.S., and it
is not a mild infection.

It is NOT the same type of coronavirus as ECE, not by a long shot. It's
kind of like Mel Torme and Madonna both being singers but certainly
vastly different singers. If you want to think of yet another of
the types of coronaviruses think of FIP as Michael Jackson. All are
singers, all are different individuals, though, and you'd probably
usually book them into different places...

No, the FHL poster's pet ferret with possible asthma does not have
SARS (thank goodness).

For the original poster:

Asthma, though, is among the possibilities. It's not common in ferrets
but can happen. Some respond well to plain Benedryl children's elixir
when that is the case, but with ferrets serious respiratory illnesses
such as pneumonia can be well hidden so imaging the chest when a ferret
suddenly develops a cough ipays. Doing so can also spot some heart
problems (which also can cause coughing) and if JL (Juvenile
Lymphoma)is present the thymus will tend to be enlarged usually.

Although I recall that others posted about harder hitting approaches
for asthma in ferrets I don't recall specifics. They are probably in
the FML Archives, the FHL Archives, or both. The FML Archives' URL is
in the header of each day's Ferret Mailing List, and the FHL Archives'
URL is the second of my recommended ferret health links in my signature
lines.

Sukie (not a vet)

Recommended ferret health links:
http://pets.groups.yahoo.com/group/ferrethealth/
http://ferrethealth.org/archive/
http://www.afip.org/ferrets/index.html
http://www.miamiferret.org/fhc/
http://www.ferretcongress.org/
http://www.trifl.org/index.shtml
http://homepage.mac.com/sukie/sukiesferretlinks.html

[Posted in FML 6216]