Hello all!
 
I stupidly left my robe hanging on the computer chair today when I went up
to take a shower.  When I came back down, the ferrets had climbed up onto
the computer desk, and besides making a royal mess of everything on the
desk, the computer was logged onto Internet mail and it was in a search
mode.  Typed in under search for what?  was the word ooZA.  Uh oh.  Do you
suppose they were trying to contact the mother ship again?  Creepy.  : o
 
Has anyone else seen the results of the Compendium of Animal Rabies Control
1997?  The state department of agriculture sent it to me (along with a
letter saying I was okay to have a ferret shelter in Nebraska!  :> ) In it,
it said that in their studies with skunk rabies in ferrets, none of the
ferrets shed it in their saliva, which we already know.  However, it also
said that so far with their testing with raccoon rabies, that this strain
was not behaving the same way.  It said that this study was not complete at
the time, but the that the preliminary oral report said that some of the
ferrets had shed the rabies virus in their saliva.  So at the present time,
they did not plan to make any changes in the recommendations for management
of ferrets that bite humans.  It also said that the study should be complete
by December.  (The compedium is dated November 27, 1996.)
 
Has anyone perhaps heard of what the results were?  Before I go marching
into places (such as the humane society in Lincoln) and telling them that
ferrets cannot pass along rabies, I would like to have all of the latest
facts, or they will just throw them back in my face.  I will still use the
facts that ferrets are very unlikely to get rabies, especially compared to
dogs, but I would like to know as much as possible, forewarned is forearmed.
The committee for the compendium is made up of the National Association of
State Public Health Veterinarians, Inc.  with Dr. Suzanne R.  Jenkins, VMD,
MPH as the Chair.
 
You can either post to the fml or e-mail me directly at [log in to unmask]
Thanks!
 
Dooks and kisses to all,
Shelley Knudsen
Legion of Superferrets of NE Ferret Shelter
[Posted in FML issue 1800]