This evening (at 1700 hours in New York) I was listening to 94.7 FM while
driving home from work.  One of the regular features of that station is "A
Medical Minute with Dr. Manzella" (phonetic spelling).  This evening Dr.
Manzella's topic was rabies.
 
Dr. Manzella's discussion included both accurate and inaccurate material.
Unfortunately, Dr. Manzella (I suspect unknowingly) perpetuated a few of
the common fallacies concerning the domestic ferret.  Since I was driving,
what follows is drawn from memory and as such (and in spite of the
quotation marks) should be understood to be a paraphrase of his remarks:
 
 "Which animal is most likely to transmit rabies to you?  a) the ferret
  b) the rabbit c) the mouse d) the squirrel.  The answer is a) the
  ferret."  (He used this question as the lead-in to his discussion.)
 
As the program progressed, Dr. Manzella implied that the domestic ferret
is considered a wild animal.  "Ferrets and other wild animals don't adapt
well to domestic life." He continued by making reference to the fact that
ferrets have been known to bite people.  I do not recall him mentioning
that ferrets should be vaccinated to protect them and the people who
interact with them from this disease.
 
Dr. Manzella, to his credit, did correctly state that "Ferrets have become
popular pets."
 
He closed by stating he enjoys receiving letters.  Perhaps he will receive
a few extra ones this week via the FML.  My plan is to send Dr. Manzella a
letter along with photocopies of Domestic Ferret Rabies Information and
Domestic Ferret Informational Materials which were compiled by Troy Lynn
Eckart.  BTW, if you do not have your own copies, please contact Troy Lynn
and order these packets.  I have found the materials she included to be
invaluable when dealing with situations such as this!
 
Should you decide to write to Dr. Manzella, **please** seek to educate --
not alienate him!  Perhaps, he will respond by offering a retraction.  You
may contact him by writing to:
 
           Dr. Manzella's Medical Minute
           c/o Family Stations, Inc.
           289 Mount Pleasant Avenue
           West Orange, New Jersey  07052
 
Although I do not know if Family Stations (which is based in **California**)
carries Dr. Manzella's program on stations other that 94.7 FM which serves
the New York/New Jersey area, it is possible that they do.
 
Thank you!
[Posted in FML issue 2554]