Looked these up for a friend who is trying to improve (not hard to do, I'm
afraid) the level of information available on the L.A. SPCA page.  Thought
folks here might find it handy, too.  Could vets, PLEASE, comment and let us
all know of anything new or additional about these?
 
The page had a wide range of misinformation and the originators were even
unaware of IMRAB-3 meeting USDA criteria for ferrets and of the '98
Compendium of Animal Rabies Control (as you'll recall).  The diseases here
are ones the page said ferrets get.
 
Sources I used are Hillyer and Quesenberry's _Ferrets, Rabbits and Rodents_
copyright 1997, and Fox's _Biology and Diseases of the Ferret_ from 1988.
 
Histoplasmosis: No mention is in H&Q. Fox: "infectious but not contagious...
in the one reported case, the ferret was used to hunt rabbits and rats.  Its
diet consisted of dogfood, table scraps, and rabbit heads." ONE case --
watch out -- must be a trend.
 
Salmonella: H&Q also mention guinea pigs and rabbits with this, and of
course we all know that the greatest exposure for humans is going to be from
undercooked poultry, undercooked eggs, and not washing properly when
handling herps.  H&Q: "The incidence of salmonella in pet ferrets is very
low and the infection may be associated with the feeding of uncooked meat,
poultry, and meat byproducts" Fox says the same about how ferrets get it and
mentions rate as "unknown" but remember that this is a much older reference.
 
Escherichia coli: NEITHER veterinary text mentioned this as a problem
ferrets get.  Rabbits get it.
 
Listeriosis: Could not find any mention of it in H&Q.  Fox mentions that
this organism "may be isolated from water, soil, dust, animal feed, and
various domestic and wild animals" He also says that it is "mildly
infectious but highly fatal ... prevalence of the organism in ferrets in
unknown" then he goes on to explain the extreme conditions in which it was
found in ferrets: "isolated from a group of ferrets previously inoculated
with ... lung tissue from distemper-infected ferrets" and ""isolated from
pleural fluid of an immunosuppressed ferret".
 
Dermatomyocosis: from both it sounds like this problem is spread throughout
Animalia.  Sounds like someone wanted to throw in a "scary" word so I didn't
even bother with quotes since it seems like you can mention this for any pet.
 
Tuberculosis: H&Q: Ferrets may be naturally or experimentally infected by
the bovine, avian, and human tubercle bacilli ..  these infections have been
associated with the feeding of raw meat and poultry and unpasteurized dairy
products".  They do not recommend treatment when infection happens because
of zoonotic potentenial.  Fox goes on to say the same things plus that the
sources mentioning tuberculosis in ferrets are almost all from the 1920s
into early 1950s because cleaner meat, poultry and milk farm and handling
practises have reduced the incidence of the disease in humans and domestic
animals, plus few people give uncooked foods to ferrets.  He also mentioned
that some areas/researchers/owners saw it during that era because of the
following practise: "Chicken offal was used in preparing mink ration, which
is also fed to ferrets", and mentions the caution "(bird) feces should be
prevented from contaminating feed supplies and outdoor areas housing
ferrets".  Basically, if a ferret gets this it should be put down, but the
reports of the disease trace to feeding and housing practises typically not
seen in the U.S.
 
Sukie
[Posted in FML issue 2180]