>From:    Pam Franklin <[log in to unmask]>
>From:    Lynn Mcintosh <[log in to unmask]>
 
No flame here.  I completely sympathize w/your concern about ECE.  I
originally intended to post to you privately, but all ferret owners should
be made aware of the pain & suffering ECE can bring to ferrets & their
families.  My family was exposed to the ravages of this horrible disease by
someone who stayed at my home w/her ferret when she came to our show.
 
There's no doubt in my mind that she was the cause of the exposure.  She
denies it, but I was the only one w/sick ferrets after the show.  She did
admit that hers had been sick w/diarrhea a few weeks before, but claims it
wasn't ECE because they got better.  Her ferrets were all babies & mine were
all between 4 & 9 years old & weren't so lucky.
 
I don't know if my ferrets, or my home for that matter, will ever be free of
the disease.  I feel cheated & I'm angry.  The short time I would have had
w/my babies was taken from me & I can no longer take in rescues - all
because of the complacency of someone who was fortunate enough not to have
experienced the full devistation & heartbreak of ECE.
       ********************************
 
2 posts yesterday, in particular, caught my attention.  More than anything I
wish that I could say that I agree w/them.
 
Ferret Rescue of Tidewater <[log in to unmask]> * ...as long as my ferret
did not exhibit any symptoms of ECE in the last 6 months, that they were
safe to take to the show.*
     &
Sukie Crandall <[log in to unmask]>  *The MAJOR reason we went with a
Marshalls kit when we added Jumpstart was because we know a place which gets
them from a distributor who handles ONLY Marshall's kits, and Marshalls is
known to be ECE free...*
 
My babies started to break w/the diarhhea about 48 hours after contact w/the
vector, Oct '94.  It's too painful for me to think back & remember each of
the babies I had suffering & dying, so I'm going to say I had 12 sick babies.
 
Still having to go to work, our nursing began at 5am until we had to leave.
I live relatively close to work, so I would run home instead of relaxing
during lunch & try to feed a few.  After work, with feeding, cleaning all
the cages & carriers (we were told to separate everyone), & giving sub-q
fluids, our day ended at 2am.  Even though our every waking moment was
consumed by their care, it was still impossible for me & my husband to
effectively manage the intensive care the 12 of them needed.  I made the
decision a few weeks in that my 3 oldest wouldn't survive, even if I could
give them the undivided attention they needed, & ended their suffering.  I
was emotionally & physically beaten as I watched my family wither away &
die.  In all, I lost 8 of my babies & later 1 rescue.  ECE was relatively
new then, & not much was know about how to effectively maintain them through
the disease.  I seem to have been the 1st case in GA.  I know a lot more now.
 
I waited until spring '96 before bringing any new fuzzies into my home.  I
finally broke down when our foster families were all full & took in 2 robust
males who were about 2 yrs old.  After a 3 week quarrantine, on a different
floor of my home, I brought the 2 boys into my ferrets' room.  Within 48
hours they were both sick.  At least this time I knew how to successfully
support them & only had 2 to deal with.
 
You risk exposure from any ferret you bring into your home - including MF
pet shop kits.  I've already heard of 8 cases in GA where people brought
home perfectly healthy pet shop kits (at lease 1 of the pet stores sold MF
exclusively) as companions for their own ferrets & their original ferret
became sick - some died.  2 of these people contacted me directly & my vet
told me about the other 6.
 
Summer '96 I took in 3 kit rescues  - 2 14wk olds & later a 6-9 mo old.
They didn't showed any of the traditional symptoms.  They did have the
classic diarhhea for 1 day though.  I use newspaper in my cages.  But had I
used litter, I might not even have noticed it.  I believe this to be the
reason why households who bring in new kits believe they are free of the
disease.
 
My experience is that once a fuzzy has survived ECE, or was very young when
exposed, there's no way of knowing that it's had the disease, & that they
can still be carriers.  Seemingly healthy ferrets can pass ECE long after 6
months.
 
I don't think anyone is really safe from ECE anymore.
 
Juliana
Frodo, Rocks, Anola Gay, SNAFU, FUBAR, Tabu, Chaos & Tuxedo
[Posted in FML issue 1852]