A couple days ago, Meg Carpenter posted about a gastrointestinal bug that
she had recently seen.  We've had something similar, but different enought
warrant posting.
 
The initial symptoms look very much like ECE.  Incubation period seems to be
1-2 days.  It begins with sudden profuse watery diarrhea, usually yellow or
greenish.  There may also be vomitting initially, but not in all cases.  When
the diarrhea begins the ferret stops eating.  Fortunately, within 1 to 3
days, the ferret recovers as quickly as it got sick.  We provided supportive
care with duck soup, and tried variously Flagy, Pepto Bismol, colloidal
silver or nothing.  Recovery was quick in all cases, though loose or seedy
stools may continue for a few more days.
 
Two young healthy males showed only some loose stools for a few days, while
older, recuperating (neutering and adrenal surgeries), or Marshall Farms
ferrets were harder hit.  A 10-month old showed no symptoms at all.
 
The very interesting thing is that 7 ferrets who had no known prior exposure
to ECE all came down with it, but the 7 who had ECE a year ago showed no
symptoms.  Could it be an attenuated version of ECE?
 
Has anyone else seen this?
 
Linda Iroff
North Coast Ferret Shelter
http://www.oberlin.edu/~liroff/ncfs.html
[Posted in FML issue 1950]