This notice was written by Mary Van Dahn at the FAIR Shelter in Westchester,
IL.  We currently have about 80 ferrets at the shelter, all of whom have
been exposed to the "Green Slime" virus.
 
NOTE: The following information is not meant to take the place of qualified
veterinary care.  Please consult with your veterinarian before starting your
pet on any treatment.
 
No, there still isn't a "cure" or a vaccine for this scourge on our pets,
but at least we ARE making progress treating the symptoms of this disease
and pulling more animals through it without all the debilitating side
effects that many ferrets previously experienced.
 
Many of you are aware that the ECE virus attacks the stomach and the
intestinal linings of the ferret and inhibits absorption of fluids and
nutrients.  We had previously been counteracting this by providing the sick
animals with a very high calorie, easily digestible diet of Hill's
Prescription Diet A/D canned food mixed with Deliver 2.0, fed in 1 oz.
portions 3-4 times a day.  We were also giving the ferrets Pepto Bismol or
Kaopectate at the rate of 1 cc 2-3 times a day.
 
The ferrets hated the Pepto Bismol and Kaopectate and we would often find
ourselves wearing the medicines rather than the ferrets taking them.  We
also found that these medications did not seem to prevent the nasty mouth
and stomach ulcers from forming in many of the ferrets.  I was also worried
that the coating action of these products would further reduce the
absorption of nutrients by the ferrets' intestinal tracts.
 
I had heard of Pepcid A/C being used safely on ferrets with gastric ulcers,
so I decided to try it on the ferrets with ECE.  Eureka!  It worked!
Ferrets that were already severely debilitated from the virus still took a
long time to recover, but most of the new cases (95% or better) that came in
responded right away to treatment.  **We have not had a single mouth ulcer
since starting this treatment** and from the faster recovery rate of the
animals, I would venture to guess that we have reduced or eliminated the
stomach ulcers in most cases, also.  Another plus is that ferrets rarely
object to the taste and such a small dose is given that they generally
swallow it so fast that they don't taste it at all!
 
The recommended dose for ferrets with gastric ulcers is .25 cc Pepcid
suspension per kg (about 2 lbs) given 2-3 times daily.  We have found that
giving .10 cc per kg 1-2 times daily as soon as symptoms of the virus start
and continuing for about 21 days (depending on the initial condition of the
ferret) has apparently been adequate to prevent the ECE related ulcers from
forming in most ferrets.  NOTE: The Pepcid suspension is made by crushing a
10 mg tablet of Pepcid A/C and adding 10 cc of water to it.  This suspension
settles quickly and must be shaken WELL between each dose administered.
Veterinarians may check with their local pharmacy to see if there is another
medium that will suspend the ground Pepcid particles more easily.
 
Dr. Susan Brown of the Midwest Bird and Exotic Animal Hospital has also been
trying Imodium (liquid) on some of the ferrets in her practice.  It is given
at a rate of .10 cc per ferret 2-3 times a day for 1-4 days (usually given
for 2 days, then skipping a day, then given 1-2 more days).  This treatment
is still in a trial stage and she recommends it only for chronic or severe
cases of diarrhea until more is known about the longterm effects of this
product on ferrets.  We have tried it on a few ferrets in our shelter that
were responding slowly to other treatments and it seemed to work.
 
We have also found that administering prednisone has helped in some of the
ferrets with ECE.  A dose of .25 mg-.50 mg per ferret once a day for 7-14
days (and then every other day for 3 more doses) helps as an
anti-inflammatory agent and increases the appetite of severely affected
animals.  NOTE: Prednisone a.k.a.  prednisolone is a prescription drug and
must be obtained from a veterinarian.  We advise that a blood glucose test
for your ferret prior to starting it on prednisone since prednisone can be
detrimental to ferrets with hyperglycemia (diabetes).
 
While using the Pepcid A/C we still feed the sick ferrets the A/D anbd
Deliver 2.0 mixture, but for most ferrets we can cut it back to only one 1
oz.  feeding a day.  We have also been adding a pinch of brewer's yeast to
the mixture and a few drops of Petinic.  We also still use Amoxicillin in
some ferrets (usually ones with concurrent medical problems) during the
early stages of the virus to prevent bacterial "opportunists" from further
complicating recovery.
 
We would like to hear about the results listmembers and veterinarians have
when they try this new treatment.  So far all the feedback we have received
has been positive.  Also, if you have other things to suggest, please call
Mary Van Dahm at the FAIR shelter: 708-681-3181; you may also email me c/o
[log in to unmask]
 
Best wishes to all--
 
Anatole Mori
Mookie, Maia, Poppy, and Sabrina (all happily unexposed and loving it)
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* Anatole Mori                Managing Editor       *
*                             Classical Philology   *
* [log in to unmask]   1010 East 59th Street *
* office (312) 702-2564       University of Chicago *
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[Posted in FML issue 1746]