> From: RBOSSART <[log in to unmask]>
> Subject: NH Public Health Bulletin
> Date: Wed, 23 Mar 1994 19:25:38 -0500
 
> Since the 1950's, there have been 12 reported cases of rabies in ferrets.
> Now mind you that the vaccine was just approved in 1990, so that for most
> of this time were talking unvaccinated ferrets.  Of the 12 reports,
> several were believed to have been induced by someone inoculating them
> with a live virus vaccine, which will give them rabies.
 
> During this same time there have been 24 cases of rabies in humans; 701
> rabid horses; 2,240 rabid dogs; 2,310 rabid cats; 3,395 rabid cattle.
> Furthermore, studies in Europe have shown that the ferret is *Very*
> likely to die before it ever reaches a point where it would shed the
> virus in its saliva (between 90% and 100% of the time).
>
 
Actually, I wanted to jum in and correct one small error here, in the
ferrets favor. Yes, there were 12 (14 now) cases of rabies reported in
ferrets since 1946, many of which were either inoculated with a live
rabies vaccine, or even worse, `false positives' (The tested positive for
rabies ANTIBODIES, and not the virus - ANTIBODIES are what the VACCINE
causes ferrets to produce..)
 The point I wanted to make is that the figures for rabies in humans,
dogs, cats, ect, quoted above were for the years between 1970 - 1980,
NOT since 1950.. there are approximately 200 cases of rabies in the US in
dogs, and the same number in cats, EVERY YEAR.. and MAYBE one in ferrets.
Ferrets are the LOWEST rabies risk out there, and I am constantly
confused when out health and animal control departments say otherwise..
the facts are therre.. there has NEVER been a case of a ferret passing
rabies on to any other species, and only ONE case of a ferret passing
rabies on to another FERRET! (and that was not a bite, the virus was
apparently passed on through sexual intercourse with the other ferret..
and how many humans have to worry about THAT?? :)  )
 
[log in to unmask]
Matt Ouimette
Utah Ferret Association
 
p.s., I LIKED ther ferret jokes, especially the one about the round cage!
(driving a ferret crazy)
 
[Posted in FML issue 0771]