I'm catching up on FMLs from back before Christmas and wanted to comment on
a few infectious disease threads.
 
Robyn Stephens asked about Coccidia.  Coccidia is an order of intestinal
parasites that infect vertebrates.  (Don't confuse this with Coccidioides,
which is a parasitic fungal infection that causes "valley fever" [aka San
Joaquin fever] in humans.)  There have been quite a few reports of Coccidia
in ferret stool.  So much so, that some people think that it may show up as
an opportunistic disease in ferrets that are stressed or ill from some other
cause (cancer, infection, etc.)  That doesn't mean you shouldn't treat it
when it's found but finding Coccidia would make me look for whatever else
allowed the Coccidia to get a foothold.
 
Tina Femea asked whether ferrets can get HIV from a human.  The answer is
absolutely not.  I know a number of HIV researchers and they looked for an
animal model of HIV for years and none gets AIDS from HIV-1 the way humans
do.  The HIV-1 virus is specifically adapted to humans.  (Some strains of
the HIV-2 virus are essentially identical to the simian virus, SIV, which
infects chimpanzees and cause a slower and less agressive form of AIDS in
humans.)  So, your ferret cannot get HIV.  They are primate viruses, just as
humans can't get feline immunodeficiency virus--that's a feline virus.  The
biggest worry to your mother is whether she catches anything from people and
pets around her.  She should carefully clean any accidental bites or
scratches from the ferret or from any source to avoid infection.  Kisses on
the lips from the ferret is probably not a wise practice.  On the plus side,
mustelids are known for transmitting far, far fewer diseases to humans than
dogs or cats do.  In that respect, a ferret may be a safer pet for a person
with immune deficiency.
 
Speaking of which, there was a comment a few issues back about infectious
agents causing immune suppression.  Just to set things straight--infectious
organisms often sabbotage part of the immune system to infect a host, but
some people have the misconception that an infection with, say,
Helicobacter, suppresses the *entire* immune system.  That's not true.
Mammalian immune systems are very complex and it would be nearly impossible
to suppress all aspects of the immune system.  A microbe usually only needs
to circumvent one part to successfully infect you or your ferret.  In fact,
if a microbe were to suppress the entire immune system, it would give
*other* germs an opportunity to take advantage of its efforts.  Be
suspicious about claims for herbal or homeopathic remedies that claim to
"boost the immune system." Immunity is very complex and involves dozens of
different components.  No single treatment can boost every aspect of the
immune system and you don't want a supersensitive immune system either or
you end up with auto-immune diseases like rheumatoid arthritis and lupus.
 
Finally, John Rosloot asked about the surgical technique for treating left
ventricular hypertrophy in ferrets with cardiomyopathy?  I saw the article
in Discover, too, John, but I doubt there's much chance of it being used on
ferrets anytime soon.  You'd need a cardiopulmonary bypass machine for a
ferret for starters, and the surgery would be very difficult as a ferret has
a heart about the size of an acorn.  Human cardiac surgeons have a lower
success rate with bypass operations in some women in part because their
their vessels are smaller than in a man and harder to reattach properly.  If
it's tougher to do something routine by bypass surgery in a 105-lb woman,
imagine how difficult it would be to resect a ventricle in a 1-lb ferret?
If any of the vet schools specialize in microsurgery they might give it a
try but I can't imagine the odds of a good outcome are in your favor.  It
was a nice thought though.
 
--Jeff Johnston ([log in to unmask])
[Posted in FML issue 1804]