Many thanks to Chris Lloyd who had this answer about the Shiga Toxin produced by some strains of E. coli such as in the large E. Coli O157:H7 beef recall now happening in the U.S.: http://pets.groups.yahoo.com/group/ferrethealth/message/7237 I know some people are wondering. Once again: These are some of the ferret studies which may be of interest since this particular one is so very dangerous for ferrets: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15583337 http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11865409 http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11504237 http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/6358164 For those who don't know (and that includes some others who have posted) there are multiple types of E. coli strains. Some are not a big problem at all. The ones that produce Shiga Toxin are a huge problem and can be fatal for ferrets as well as for humans, though. That toxin causes colonic hemorrhaging and kidney damage. Don't believe me? See the ferret studies cited just above and check out knowledgeable sites on Shiga Toxin strains of E. coli, with those strain also know as "Shiga toxin-producing" E. coli, or STEC for short, or called verocytotoxic E. coli (VTEC) or enterohemorrhagic E. coli (EHEC); these all refer generally to the same group of bacteria. These are very different in terms of acute health problems and the risk of life-long damage from the milder more common strains of E.coli. Sukie (not a vet) Recommended ferret health links: http://pets.groups.yahoo.com/group/ferrethealth/ http://ferrethealth.org/archive/ http://www.afip.org/ferrets/index.html http://www.miamiferret.org/fhc/ http://www.ferretcongress.org/ http://www.trifl.org/index.shtml http://homepage.mac.com/sukie/sukiesferretlinks.html [Posted in FML 6061]
