Am about 2/3rds the way through Robin Cook's book called "Contagion" and
have just got to the part where the 'hero', a medical examiner in NY City,
finds that a patient in a big hospital has died of primary influenza
pneumonia.  He finds that his office can't subtype it, however his colleague
gives him the phone number of someone at CDC who tells him that they cannot
do it overnight unless the titer is high.  She says that if the titer is too
low, it might be several weeks before she can get back to him "because we
have to grow the virus out.  We usually use_ ferrets_, and it takes a good
two weeks for an adequate antibody response which guarantees we'll have a
good harvest of virus."
 
How horrible - I assume this is because ferrets catch the human strain of
flu?  Can anyone in the know expand on this?
 
The second reference is on a bottle of XLR8, which is an alcoholic cola
available in Australia.  The label shows two young ladies walking towards
each other on a collision course as they round the corner.  The one on the
left is well dressed with a fur stole around her neck; the other on the
right, is wearing jeans and a T-shirt with "FUR" in a red circle with a red
line through it and it her hand is a huge silvermitt male.
 
Strange label but nice to see the ferret :-}
 
To all of those who have lost furpals recently, my most sincere condolences.
 
Best wishes
 
Nona
The Ferret Centre
[Posted in FML issue 1897]