Fulvio Biagioni <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
 
>7. Rabies develop in an infected animal in 6 months. Luckily enough if it
>bites somebody BEFORE the symptoms become evident (even only one day
>before) it does not transmit it.
 
The incubation period of rabies is highly variable, depending on location
of inoculation (bite), amount and concentration of inoculate, and the
immune response of the individual animal.  In ferrets, the incubation
period lasts anywhere from 30-90 days.
 
Most animals, ferrets included, can shed (transmit) the virus for short
periods before exhibiting symptoms.  In ferrets this period is rarely
occurs, and when it does it's so short (less than 36 hours) that quarantine
is still a practical, safe option.  Usually, ferrets are unable to shed at
all, succumbing to rabies before the virus reaches the saliva.
 
>Now, two question arise : How many probabilities has a Ferret, usually
>living inside a home, to get rabies ?
>(My Vet says: less than zero...)
 
Well, I don't know if a probability can be *less* than zero, but it's
pretty low.  There're about 20 documented US cases of rabies in
domesticated ferrets, and most of them involved outdoor ferrets, or an
indoor ferret that had recently escaped.  I'd say the odds of an
unvaccinated, indoor ferret contracting rabies are about 10^-8.  Toss in a
history of regular Imrab-3 inoculations and those odds probably drop to
10^-9.  Just guesses, of course.
 
>The second: where Ferret's vaccins come from?  Eggs, dogs, cats, ferrets ?
>(Last case would be the right one).  My Vet doesn't know about, here we
>don't have them.
 
I believe Merieux still uses chicken embryos to cultivate the virus before
modifying or killing it, but don't quote me on that.  The manufacturer has
gone thru some changes in the last two years and I haven't stayed current
on its Imrab-3 process.
 
"Who me, officer? What's a ferut? These guys?? No, they're Polish cats."
[Posted in FML issue 2506]