On ECE and it's possible origins, and problems of mink and ferrets
together in Issue 18:
 
 Date: Tue, 27 Feb 2001 21:05:27 -0000
 From: "Dr. Bruce Williams" <[log in to unmask]>
 Subject: Re: mink diseases
 
Dear Vickie:
 
It is likely, although not proven, that ECE may be a ferret adapted strain
of ECG.  Both diseases are caused by coronavirus, mink have been infected
during outbreaks of ECE, and you are not the only ferret fancier to have
mink as well.  The co-habitation of ferrets and mink at the same facility
does predispose to the sharing of diseases between these very closely
related species.  The main difference between ECG of mink and ECE of
ferrets is that the mink disease (epizootic catarrhal gastritis) primarily
hits the stomach in mink, but ECE hits the intestine of ferrets.  Other
than that they are almost identical.
 
Mink viral enteritis is caused by a parvovirus, and the lesions of
the two diseases (MVE and ECE) are quite different (at least to a
pathologist).  ECE, or coronavirus attacks the mature cells of the tips
of the intestinal villi.  While it causes some severe diarrhea, because
the immature proliferating cells at the bottom of the villi (the crypts)
are spared, the animal can regenerate the lost cells and recover.  This
is why ECE is a very survivable disease.
 
Parvovirus on the other hand (currently only seen in mink, not ferrets)
attacks the crypt epithelium in the intestine.  When you kill off the
cells which can divide and which are responsible for repair, this creates
a far worse problem, because there is no way for the animal to fix the
damage.  That is why parvovirus infection in dogs, cats and mink is so
devastating.  Luckily for parvovirus, we have a vaccine.
 
Unfortunately, there is no cross-reaction between parvoviruses and
coronaviruses, so parvoviral vaccines would not work in ECE.
 
On a side note, I have on rare occasions seen cases which looked like
parvoviral enteritis in ferrets; however I was unable to prove an origin.
 
With kindest regards,
Bruce Williams, dVM
 
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[Posted in FML issue 3343]