MC writes:
>Rabies ***IS*** spread by saliva.  So the first statement, no matter who
>said it, is true.
 
True, but I think the problem was not that the statement read "RABIES is
spread by saliva" but that the statement said that "ferrets can spread
rabies in their saliva." Although correct, the implication was that such a
spreading of rabies by ferrets is common.  Actually, ferrets who contract
rabies, in nearly every case, die before the virus appears in their saliva,
therefore they can't spread it.  In the recently completed shedding studies
at KSU, a percentage of ferrets infected with the bat variants, the raccoon
variant and the coyote variant of rabies did have the virus appear in their
saliva, but in nearly all cases, the ferrets were symptomatic of rabies
when the virus did appear.  If you can see that the animal is rabid than
you can take preventive measures to protect anyone bitten.  The biggest
risk is a person getting bitten by an animal with rabies in it's saliva,
but not showing any signs.  The shedding studies were aimed at determining
how long it took from the time that the virus was in the saliva (capable of
being spread) until the ferrets showed signs of rabies (when treatment is
necessary).  Until those studies were completed, ferrets who bit people
were routinely killed and their brains examined for rabies.  Now we know
that we can observe the ferret for 10 days with a certainty that, if the
ferret does not show signs of rabies in that time, they could not have had
rabies in their saliva and therefore could not have transmitted the virus
through the bite.
 
These were very carefully controlled experiments in which the researchers
are trying to see if the animal can pass the virus in it's saliva.  If
they infect with too much, the animal dies before the virus gets into the
saliva; too little, the animal does not get rabies.  There is a very narrow
range of injected virus population where the virus can appear in the saliva
of a ferret before death with no viral shedding and no infection.
 
These studies did show that ferrets are not a great risk for transmitting
rabies.  This is borne out by the observation that fewer than 25 ferrets
have been found with rabies since the CDC in Atlanta began keeping records.
There has NEVER been a confirmed case of a ferret transmitting rabies to a
human or any other animal.
 
So, while the statement is true, it is certainly misleading.
 
Dick B.
[Posted in FML issue 2794]