"Ferrets are a high risk for rabies " - Public Health Bulletin
 
In my opinion this is one of the most overblown myths about ferrets, and to
make matters worse, usually spread by well educated people who should know
better.
 
Yes, ferrets can get rabies.  Out of the many millions of ferrets that have
lived and are alive since 1958, there have been fewer than 25 diagnosed with
rabies.  At least two of these were given rabies through innoculations with
a modified live virus rabies vaccine (not the killed virus vaccines used
today).  At least one of the "positives" was believed a lab error (not all
that uncommon according to the National Institute of Health.)
 
In order for a ferret to contract rabies, it must be bitten by an animal
that is actively secreting the rabies virus in it's saliva.  Tests (J.
Bell) on ferrets have shown that, unlike the skunk, they do not get rabies
from eating the carcas of a rabid animal.
 
In order for the ferret to infect another animal (including human) they must
bite and be secreting the rabies virus in their saliva at the time of a
bite.  (Yes, there is one suspected case of transmission of rabies by a
scratch - unproven and certainly not by a ferret.)
 
When you look at the statistics, you'll find that there has never been a
documented case of a ferret transmitting rabies to another animal or to a
human.  Why?  Because it seems that, unlike many other carnivors, the ferret
will die of the disease before the virus appears in their saliva.
 
Rabies is spread through a bite by a rabid animal that has the virus in its
saliva.  From the site of the bite, the virus migrates to the nerves, where
it eventually reproduces; travels to the brain; and then the salivary
glands.  In many small animals (rabbits, chipmunks, etc., the animal dies
from the infection before it reaches the salivary glands.  If you are bitten
by a rabbit, unless the rabbit is exhibiting very pecular symptoms, most
Public Health officials will not even recommend testing the animal unless
you insist on it, because they know through empirical evidence that rabbits
do not spread rabies.  (I know of no shedding studies ever done on a
rabbit.)
 
Tests done on ferrets so far show that ferrets also die before they shed the
virus.  The first tests were done in Germany (Forrester using a vole strain)
and France (Blancou using a fox strain).  Both concluded that "the ferret is
a dead end for rabies" -they die before the virus appeares in the saliva,
and therefore can not pass on the infection.
 
The results of these studies were discounted in the US, because they were
not North American strains of the virus.  US Public Health officials stated
that they could not feel confident that the ferret would not react
differently to local strains.  They were especially concerned about the
skunk strain because "the closest relative to the ferret in North America is
the skunk, and skunks are a high rabies risk" (ignoring the fact that the
closest living North American relative to the ferret is actually the weasel
which is NOT considered a high rabies risk.) So, in 1995, KSUVM and CDC
colaborated to do the first US shedding study on ferrets using the skunk
strain of the rabies virus.
 
The preliminary results, published in October of last year, mirrored the
results of the European studies - the ferrets died before they passed the
virus into their saliva.
 
Public Health is still insisting that at least five more strains will have
to be tested before they can consider a quarantine period.  These will
include a bat strain and a raccoon strain.  These tests will take many years
to complete, mostly because of a lack of funding.  In the meantime, ignoring
the evidence to the contrary, Public Health officials are maintaining their
stance that "ferrets are a high rabies risk", although there is absolutely
no scientific evidence to support that position.
 
As a result, ferret owners in several states have taken matters into their
own hands and gotten laws passed favoring quarantine for vaccinated ferrets.
NH passed their law in 1995.  MD in 1996 (although it does not go into
effect until October, and they are still working out the details).  TX hopes
to get their law on the books this year and have made great strides
educating their Public Health people.  NC Public Health looked at the
evidence and decided that quarantine was recommended in low risk situations
(vaccination and/or history of confinement).  KS recently change their Rules
and Recommendations to provide quarantine to ferrets with a history of
confinement.  All were the result of ferret owners getting involved.  I know
of several other ferret groups and individual working toward the same goals.
 
My opinion, if you want the killing stopped, donate to the shedding studies
(Morris Foundation and KSUVM); AND start working in YOUR state to get a
quarantine law passed for ferrets.
 
Dick B.
[Posted in FML issue 1671]