To Rick Lemker, who says that I scared the hell out of him with my talk of the
Green Diarrhea...
 
If I scared you, Rick, or anyone else on the FML, then GOOD.  The GD, for
those of you who ar new to the FML is an extremely contagious diarrheal
disease which we have seen now in MD, PA, NY, NJ, VA, DE, MI, WI, GA, AZ, TX,
and CA.  It seems to be a viral disease, although we have yet to isolate it,
which is extremely contagious, reaching up to 100% morbidity (animals
contracting the disease) in affected facilities, with about 5% mortality in
treated animals.  In untreated animals, the mortality goes up.  It i a rapidly
dehydraing diarrhea which takes as little as two days to develop.  Most cases
are traceable to the MD-VA area, but it is now spreading on its own in several
Western states.  There is currently no vaccine for this disease, and treatment
is generally symptomatic.  Most of the mortality occurs in animals over 5 with
other problems, such as insulinoma or adrenal disease.
 
The best way to prevent your ferret from contracting this disease, is to
prevent contact with ferrets whose background you are not sure about.  Most
cases are transmitted at shows, where ferrets from all over are mingled.  A
ferret may be recovered from the disease, but still shed the agent up to 6
months later.
 
While most healthy adult ferrets will recover from the disease, it is a mess
to deal with, is expensive, and as several FMLers can tell you, osmehting you
want to stay as far away from as possible.
 
Bruce Williams, DVM  [log in to unmask]  OR  [log in to unmask]
[Posted in FML issue 1106]