To Jonas Lund concerning Mycobacterium avium:
 
        I don't know why it's taken me several days to answer this one, as
     it is a very interesting subject.
 
        M. avium is a common bacteria that we find in the environment all
     around us.  However, as Dave said, yesterday, only the young, the old,
     and the immunosupressed become infected, and this is probably true
     with ferrets, although no one has done a study, as the infection is
     very unusual in ferrets.  I myself have seen one cse, and one two
     other have been reported.  I have also seen it in a family of dogs
     which we suspect have a genetic defect in their immune system.
 
        Mycobacteria (the bacteria that cause tuberculosis and leprosy in
     humans, and Johne's disease in cows, as well as many other diseases)
     are notoriously difficult to treat, and do pose a health risk for
     yourself, your family, and other ferrets in the house (although I
     think that the ferrets, being in much closer quarters are at greater
     risk.)  But if any of your family are immunosuppressed in any fashion,
     or just have poor immune systems, they are at risk also.  The vast
     majority of M. avium cases in the U.S. are seen in AIDS patients,
     prison inmates, IV drug users, and immigrants from areas with a high
     incidence of M. avium, such as Haiti.
 
        M. avium, in ferrets, has been described as an insidious
     progressive disease with no treatment.  All of this time, your ferret
     will probably be shedding the bacteria in the stool.  Becuase of the
     health risk, I would be remiss not to say that euthanasia is the best
     choice for all of the parties concerned - the ferret will not be
     getting its health back.
 
        I can't quite remember whether this ferret was diagnosed at autopsy
     or by a surgical biopsy.  In either case, I would be very interested
     in obtaining the tissues from your state lab for further analysis.
 
        I wish I could have better news, but this is a serious disease with
     a poor outlook.
 
       Bruce Williams, DVM                 Department of Veterinary Pathology
       [log in to unmask]         Armed Forces Institute of Pathology
       OR [log in to unmask]           Washington, D.C.  20306-6000
            (202) 782-2600/2602
[Posted in FML issue 1111]