To Dewayne Pratt:
 
>I was curious if any findings have been done on the GREENIES being
>transported from the breeders when shipped to pet stores?  Is this
>possible or do the breeders pay close attention to problems of the
>nature? I am fairly positive he is from MF...
 
    Renectly there were a couple of posts about the possibility of MF
ferrets having the GD or ECE, which is the preferred term.  I have spoken
to Judi Bell, the vet at MF over the last few weeks, and I am convinced
that MF does not have the virus.  Actually, they have just about closed
their colonies to eveyone who is not closely associated with taking care
of the ferrets, for fear that someone will inadvertently transport the
virus in.  They have been very helpful with the research that we are
conducting on epizootic catarrhal enteritis.
 
    Judi' explanation about the lack of ferrets to sell is simply that the
demand, especially in states like Michigan, simply outstrips their ability
to produce them.  They ar very careful about not wearing out their female
breeders, so they can only produce so many at any one time.
 
>Also how are the GREENIES transported between animals just by ferrets or are
>other animals capable of transporting, ie can a dog carry the GREENIES on
>it's fur like humans can on clothing?
 
    Sure.  We were able to transmit the disease without ferret to ferret
contact in a clinical sietting.  There is no reason why a dog can't
transport it as well on its fur as a human can on their clothing.
 
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 1222]