When I posted the note from the NH Public Health I did so because it was
*so* rediculous, that I thought most people find it *almost* funny, that
is if it weren't so serious .  I forgot about the new ferret owners who
might take it seriously (believe me I was one too; so please, no one take
offense).
 
The bulletin was put out by the State of New Hampshire, by a Doctor who
was reported to have said, "Ferrets will be legalized in NH over my dead
body." (Some think that its unfortunate that he lied about that too.)
 
I've done a *lot* of looking into this in the past few months, with a
*lot* of help from the folks on FML and most of the major ferret clubs.
The danger of ever getting rabies from a ferret is, as one wag put it,
"About equal to being struck by a falling 757 flown by a Korean pilot who
speaks fluent French, is married to a wife who is an escapee from Red
China who just won the lottery - twice."
 
Since the 1950's, there have been 12 reported cases of rabies in ferrets.
Now mind you that the vaccine was just approved in 1990, so that for most
of this time were talking unvaccinated ferrets.  Of the 12 reports,
several were believed to have been induced by someone inoculating them
with a live virus vaccine, which will give them rabies.
 
During this same time there have been 24 cases of rabies in humans; 701
rabid horses; 2,240 rabid dogs; 2,310 rabid cats; 3,395 rabid cattle.
Furthermore, studies in Europe have shown that the ferret is *Very*
likely to die before it ever reaches a point where it would shed the
virus in its saliva (between 90% and 100% of the time).
 
A university in Kansas is now doing a study on this shedding period in
the ferret, and will hopefully confim the European studies.  In fact the
Europeans had to give the ferrets massive doses of the virus to get them
rabid.  They seem to have a natural immunity.
 
If your cat were vaccinated, it is very unlikely to get the virus, and if
your ferret is vaccinated it is even less likely to get the virus.  The
odds of getting rabies from your ferret in your situation is about a
million times less that the aforementioned falling 757.
 
I'm really sorry if I caused you or anyone else any concern.
 
Dick B. in NH
 
[Posted in FML issue 0770]