To Pam Martin:
 
>...  my vet telling me ...  she rather not give ivermectin (sp?) to
>ferrets because there have been no tests regarding its safety.  However,
>I know that Dr.  Williams strongly recommends heartworm preventative.  Is
>there another preventative?  Is ivermectin (sp?) safe?  If so what dose?
 
    Ivermectin has been used in ferrets and other small mammals for years.
While the big drug companies have not spent their dollars to test it in
ferrets in their labs, vets have been using it for years, so we have a
sufficient body of knowledge about its use in ferrets to declare it safe.
It can be dosed at 30 mcg/lb once a month to prevent heartworm infection.
Alternatively, the old heartworm drug diethylcarbamazine (DEC) can be used
daily, but we have pretty much forgotten this drug now that ivermectin is
available.
 
>Also, I recently spoke to a ferret breeder who raised concerns over the
>green msytery virus spreading West.  She stated that there have recently
>been cases in Chicago.  Does anyone know where the original outbreaks of
>the greem virus were located?  How long ago?  Does the virus seem to be
>spreading West?  If so, where has recent activity been reported?
 
        Yes, I talked with Susan Brown and she has handled a large outbreak
inthe Chicago area with several fatalities.  Teh orginal outbreaks were in
March 1993 in the VA-MD area, with several cases in Penn and WI following
close on its heels.  Recent outbreaks have been reported to me in MI, TX,
GA, AZ, and CA.  This is a very contagious disease that can be spread by
inapparent, recovered carriers, and can be transmitted on clothes or people
without apparent ferret-ferret contact.
 
Bruce H. Williams, DVM         Dept. of Veterinary Pathology
Chief Pathologist, AccuPath    Armed Forces Institute of Pathology
[log in to unmask]         Washington, D.C.  20306-6000
                               [log in to unmask]
[Posted in FML issue 1218]