Hi all!
Thought I'd relate a story of the great ferret hunters (NOT)!  This
morning when I got up I found a newborn baby mouse in the ferret bed...
along with two sleeping ferrets!  I looked around in the cupboard for
a mouse nest but not finding one was in a quandary of what to do with
this unfortunate little one.  I didn't want to just leave it to be
squished by romping ferrets and as I'm extremely compassionate I didn't
want to kill it either.  I decided to let the ferrets take care of it
in which I hoped to be a quick humane manner.  Hah!  3 ferrets just
sniffed and went on their way, Deno gently picked it up and moved it
out of the bed and onto the floor (obviously mice belong on the floor
not in a ferret bed!) without harming it and Sabie picked it up but
quickly laid it back down when it squeaked!  Not one of the ferrets
wanted to harm this little mouse!  Even my mousecatching dog (who
will sit on point for hours when he hears a mouse in the cabinet)
didn't want it!  Now who says ferrets are wild!!!!!
 
ACIP -
I spoke with Dr. Rupprecht (CDC) yesterday and during our conversation
he mentioned that the ACIP (Immunization Practices Advisory Committee) is
a very conservative committee and has not been very receptive on amending
their recommendations on ferrets that bite.  The last printing of their
recs that I've received was in 1991.  Unfortunately the info is outdated
and detrimental to ferrets.  It reads -"Exotic pets (including ferrets) and
domestic animals crossbred with wild animals are considered wild animals by
the NASPHV and CSTE [this is no longer true per 1993 Compendium] because
they may be highly susceptible to rabies and could transmit the disease.
Because the period of rabies virus shedding in these animals is unknown,
these animals should be killed and tested rather than confined and observed
when they bite humans."        This statement was taken from the 1990
Compendium of Animal Rabies Control and has been completely revised to
date as - 1994 Compendium of Animal Rabies Control shows.  Ferrets are now
listed in the Domestic section along with dogs and cats, ferrets may be
vaccinated against rabies at 3 months of age... etc.  Nowhere in this
document does it say ferrets should be killed.  Section 6. Mgmt of
Animals That Bite Humans -"... Prior vaccination of an animal may not
preclude the necessity of euthanasia and testing if the period of virus
shedding is unknown for that species.  Mgmt of animals other than dogs and
cats depends on the species, the circumstances of the bite, and the
epidemiology of rabies in the area."  The key word in the 1st sentence is
MAY.  To get to my point - Dr. Rupprecht suggested contacting Dr. Walter
Orenstein (ACIP) and let him know our concerns.  Currently, KDHE is using
this outdated rec to establish their "kill and test" policy on ferrets even
though the 94 compendium states differently.  Other states may also be
using the outdated version.  We need to all pressure the ACIP to review
and revise their outdated, unsupported recs.
 
Please call Dr. Walter Orenstein (ACIP) at 404-639-8200 and voice your
concerns.  Perhaps if he receives enough calls from individual ferret
owners, club/organizations, veterinarians and other concerned parties
the revision will become a reality.  There is no evidence that rabies is
problematic in ferrets - there has never been a ferret-human transmission
and only 16 cases ever reported in the U.S..  If you'd like a copy of the
94 Compendium pleas send me your snail mail address and I'll mail a copy.
We must all band together for our beloved pets!  You now have a way to do
something to help.  Please Call Dr. Orenstein!
 
Hugs to all fuzzies!  tle
 
[Posted in FML issue 0874]