Okay, in the study in Norther Spain
http://aem.asm.org/content/78/3/885/T1.expansion
of the mustelids none of the three american mink had it, none of the
26 beech martins had it, 9 of the 75 badgers did, none of the 14 pine
martins did, none of the 5 polecats did, none of the 5 weasels did. So,
only badgers at 9 of 75, which is 1.2%, so only slightly over 1%.

Of other members of Carnivora tested 1 of three wolves had it (33.3%),
1 of 6 wildcats had it (16.6% so closer to 17%), none of the 13 genets
had it, and 1 of 62 red foxes had it (1.6% so closer to 2%).

In the Korean Study
<http://www.researchgate.net/publication/7474645_Detection_of_Bartonella_species_from_ticks_mites_and_small_mammals_in_Korea>
of the mustelids
"Neither of the two weasels were positive for Bartonella spp"

That study looked at mustelids, rodents, and insectivores.

In
http://www.ajtmh.org/content/66/5/622.full.pdf
there was one weasel in the study but that weasel did not have
Bartonella.

In the most recent study on this topic, done in Japan:
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22841404
one Japanese badger had it (6.7% so closer to 7%) and one Japanese
Martin (12.5%). The also tested raccoon dogs (native to Japan),
raccoons (which I think were introduced there by the fur trade), and
two species of weasels (which are in genus Mustela) with none of those
having Bartonella.

So, resistance in genus Mustela is a possibility, so is rapid death
with Bartonella, poor sampling, or even some general health aspects.

So far I STILL can NOT find any expert articles or posts with confirmed
Bartonella in ferrets or european or steepe polecats.

Note that badgers are mustelids but are in genus Meles. Martins are
in genus Martes in the mustelids. Otters also are mustelids, in genus
Lontra. Each of these three has been found with Bartonella. Martins do
eat a number of rodents, but most typically squirrels. I do not know
the eating patterns of badgers.

In North Carolinian river otters:
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20688703
"Between 2006 and 2007, DNA from a novel Bartonella sp. was detected
in 19 of 65 animals (29%). Blood from one live otter captured in 2008
was found positive for this Bartonella sp. by both PCR and culture.
The pathogenicity of this Bartonella species in river otters or other
mammals is unknown."

In
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22493124
it was noted that because badgers tend to often live in close proximity
to livestock in Texas they often have rodenticide poisoning which can
weaken them; all three species of Bartonella found there were also
present in them.

Okay, this study involved stoats but they did NOT find Bartonella in
them. They found lesions which MIGHT have been from anticoagulants
such as rodenticides:
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11765324

QUOTE
Vet Rec. 2001 Dec 1;149(22):671-5.
Histological evidence of disease in wild stoats (Mustela erminea) in
England.
McDonald RA, Day MJ, Birtles RJ.
Source
School of Biological Sciences, University of Bristol.

Abstract
Forty-four free-living stoats were collected from five game estates
in England and examined for evidence of disease. All the macroscopic
lesions were attributable to the trauma associated with being trapped
or shot. There were no significant microscopic lesions in 27 (61 per
cent) of the stoats. There was evidence of nematode parasitism in the
intestines of six stoats (14 per cent), and in the lungs of five
stoats (11 per cent), and of pulmonary granulomatous inflammation or
microgranulomas in five stoats. In two of the stoats, blood-filled
cavities in the liver were suggestive of peliosis hepatis, possibly
associated with infection by Bartonella species or with sublethal
exposure to anticoagulant rodenticides.

PMID: 11765324 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]
END QUOTE

So, despite my having forgotten that stoats are in genus Mustela none
of them definitely had Bartonella in ANY of the studies.

That means that so far I can NOT find any study in which any member of
genus Mustela actually had Bartonella.

There may simply been insufficient numbers sampled.

There may be resistance.

There may be less exposure to rodents with insecticides in them and
those might undermine resistance.

There may be rapid death resulting in fewer in the samples.

It would make sense that animals with an ancestry of much rodent eating
would have better resistance. In parts of France the polecats eat more
frogs with a lower percentage of rodent eating and in some other
locations the amount of the diet that is comprised by eggs, insects,
worms, reptiles, birds or fish also vary, so it might be intriguing to
look at them, though that might be a relatively recent diet change for
some (or not) rather than one with a long ancestry, depending on
location.

For contrast there are studies in Canids (with the mustelids descended
from that branch of Carnivora) and in felines (except for certain
canids like coyotes and a few of the other small wild dogs, jackels,
and foxes with a more similar diet to genus Mustela)

Over 500 results come up for felines:
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed?term=Bartonella%20feline
Over 200 results come up for canines:
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed?term=Bartonella%20feline

Looking now at coyotes which also are from the canine branch but like
genus Mustela consume a lot of rodents so two overlaps:
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed?term=Bartonella%20coyote

This is the most recent but is small:

QUOTE
Emerg Infect Dis. 2009 Dec;15(12):1984-7.
Bartonella rochalimae in raccoons, coyotes, and red foxes.
Henn JB, Chomel BB, Boulouis HJ, Kasten RW, Murray WJ, Bar-Gal GK,
King R, Courreau JF, Baneth G.
Source
Napa County Health and Human Services, Napa, California, USA.

Abstract
To determine additional reservoirs for Bartonella rochalimae, we
examined samples from several wildlife species. We isolated B.
rochalimae from 1 red fox near Paris, France, and from 11 raccoons and
2 coyotes from California, USA. Co-infection with B. vinsonii subsp.
berkhoffii was documented in 1 of the coyotes.

PMID: 19961681 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE] PMCID: PMC3044513
Free PMC
Article
END QUOTE

There are many more but this seems to be the most recent large study w
coyotes and Bartonella:

QUOTE
Vector Borne Zoonotic Dis. 2005 Summer;5(2):110-9.
Environmental factors associated with Bartonella vinsonii subsp.
berkhoffii seropositivity in free-ranging coyotes from northern
California.
Beldomenico PM, Chomel BB, Foley JE, Sacks BN, Baldi CJ, Kasten RW,
Gardner IA.
Source
Facultad de Ciencias Veterinarias, Universidad Nacional del Litoral,
Esperanza, Santa Fe, Argentina.

Abstract
Bartonella vinsonii subsp. berkhoffii is a newly recognized pathogen
of domestic dogs and humans. Coyotes (Canis latrans) are considered an
important reservoir of this bacterium in the western United States,
but its vectors are still unknown. Our objective was to identify
environmental factors associated with Bartonella antibody prevalence
in 239 coyotes from northern California, using an enzyme-linked
immunosorbent assay. In addition, associations were evaluated between
B. v. berkhoffii and two pathogens with known vectors and habitat
requirements, Dirofilaria immitis and Anaplasma phagocytophilum.
Overall, B. v. berkhoffii seroprevalence was 28% (95% confidence
interval [CI], 22.3%, 33.7%) and Bartonellaseropositive coyotes were
more likely than seronegative coyotes to be positive for Anaplasma
phagocytophilum (Odds ratio = 3.3; 95% CI = 1.8, 5.9) and Dirofilaria
immitis (Odds ratio = 2.1; 95% CI = 1.2, 3.8). The most likely
geographic clusters of Bartonella and Dirofilaria overlapped.Bartonella
seropositivity was associated with higher precipitation (p = 0.003) and
proximity to the coast (p = 0.007) in univariate analysis. The
association with precipitation varied with season, based on a logistic
regression model.

PMID: 16011426 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]
END QUOTE

Sukie (not a vet) Ferrets make the world a game.

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 7509]