<http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=contagion-controversy-erupts>

It just appeared in my mailbox, so...

This tells of TWO teams looking at mutations in influenza. For example,
the H5N1 -- one of the two studies -- has not been very contagious but
does kill a high percentage of the few people who have gotten it. 600
cases are known in people over a space of 14 years, but 60% of those
die.

Any of the other categories of influenza are different matters, some of
which are more contagious but also less likely to be fatal). Among the
highly contagious types of influenza so far the highest death rate has
been an average of 2% fatalities overall with the 1918-1920 pandemic.
(See my other post today for the source of that figure, and see in that
post why it can be very hard for a disease to become a pandemic if it
is both highly fatal and highly contagious.)

Now, in the real world currently: if you get the intranasal vaccine
treat yourself as potentially contagious for influenza for a while.
Know that even though ferrets don't get the causative viruses for colds
they DO get and share some of the same bacterial sinus infections as we
humans get, and they DO get and share at least some (all?) of the same
types of influenza as we get. In humans if we have a partial immunity
due to earlier exposures an influenza or a sinus infection may at times
seem mild and be confused with a cold, so if there is any chance that
you have a sinus infection or influenza DO take precautions: close the
doors of shelters till it is past, wash hands a lot, do not kiss, or
sneeze or cough upon ferrets, etc.

Sukie (not a vet)

Recommended ferret health links:
http://pets.groups.yahoo.com/group/ferrethealth/
http://ferrethealth.org/archive/
http://www.miamiferret.org/
http://www.ferrethealth.msu.edu/
http://www.ferretcongress.org/
http://www.trifl.org/index.shtml
http://homepage.mac.com/sukie/sukiesferretlinks.html
all ferret topics:
http://listserv.ferretmailinglist.org/archives/ferret-search.html

"All hail the procrastinators for they shall rule the world tomorrow."
(2010, Steve Crandall)
On change for its own sake:  "You can go really fast if you just jump
off the cliff." (2010, Steve Crandall)

[Posted in FML 7269]