Permission to cross post the following information to other lists is
granted (and even encouraged), as long as the post is taken in it
entirety, with out any changes or additions.
I apologize for this taking so long. Back in July, there were questions
that came up about whether or not the research team at UGA was going to
continue researching ADV in ferrets, or if they were only going to be
looking at ADV in skunks. At the time, I posted that I thought there
had very likely been a miscommunication somewhere, but that I would
check it out and let everyone know what I learned.
Dr. Ritchie, the head of the team at UGA can be hard to reach -
especially if you are calling long distance, and have limited times
when you can try to call. Also, soon after this confusion occurred, I
was out of town for several weeks, and without Internet access. Since
I have been back, my life has been somewhat "complicated".
I still have not been able to actually speak to Dr. Ritchie. We have
been playing telephone tag. But, in desperation, I finally settled for
speaking to another member of the team, Dr. Kenneth Latimer.
I have no idea where the information that UGA was discontinuing research
on ADV in ferrets came from, but it is definitely not true. They are
still working on ferret ADV as well as skunk ADV, and are also interested
in working on an ADV vaccine, according to Dr. Latimer. The only thing
we can figure, and this is pure speculation, is that somehow the status
of ADV testing at UGA became confused with the research itself.
The research team is no longer investigating ADV testing for ADV in
ferrets. Their ferret ADV tests have been validated, and the testing
has been moved from the research lab to the commercial lab. But, this
is the testing for ADV in ferret only. They are apparently still in the
process of refining and validating their tests for skunk ADV. So, it is
possible that somehow someone mistook this information to mean that the
team was no longer looking at ferret ADV.
People who want to get testing done by UGA should now contact Dr. Paula
Ciembor at the Infectious Diseases Laboratory, <[log in to unmask]>,
(706) 542-2867. I do not know what the charges for the tests are, but
they are running both PCR (the test for antigen) and the CIEP tests. I
believe they also offer an ELISA test. All 3 tests are generally run
on blood serum samples.
At the time questions about the future of the ADV research arose, I said
that I had not yet sent off the donations from the afghan raffle at
Toronto, and that I would hold the money until I knew that research on
ferret ADV was continuing. Since Dr. Latimer has assured me that it is,
I will now send off those moneys.
For others who wish to make donations to the research project, now that
Kate is no longer at UGA, they should be sent to the attention of Dr.
Branson Ritchie. Checks should be made out to "The Arch Foundation" and
on the notations line, write "ADV Research". His mailing address and
other contact information can be found at:
http://www.uga.edu/cgi-bin/ldap
For those who don't want to go to the webpage:
BRANSON W RITCHIE, RESEARCH PROFESSOR
UGA College of Vet Medicine
SMALL ANIMAL MEDICINE
H316 VET MED - 1
ATHENS, GA 30602
Telephone number: 706-542-6316
Email: [log in to unmask]
I realize that ADV is not the only ferret disease that needs additional
research done, and that there are also many other things besides health
research that need funding. But, ADV is a disease that can be deadly,
and currently, there is no cure, treatment or vaccine for ADV. But,
with donations, a vaccine could be possible, and ferret owners could be
free of the worry of ADV.
As I have stated before, the estimate of the cost of a vaccine that Dr.
Ritchie gave me was $240,000.00, or $60,000.00 a year for 4 years. This
sounds like a lot when mentioned as a lump sum, but with about 2,500
members on the FML, if each FML member donated just $25.00 a year for
the next 4 years, we would cover the cost of developing a vaccine
against ADV. That means for a little more then $2.00 a month per FML
member, for the next 4 years, we could stop needing to worry about ADV.
Some people have expressed concern that this sum is too great for ferret
owners to be expected to raise it. Maybe this is true. But, I would
point to efforts in the avian community, and the work they have done to
raise money to fight avian diseases. In recent years, avian enthusiasts
have raised much larger sums of money to further research and vaccines
for birds. I do not think that they are any larger a community then we
are, and I would hate to think we can not accomplish some of the same
things that they have. Here are a few websites that support what I have
said.
http://www.stoppdd.org/makeitwork/makitwork.htm
http://www.funnyfarmexotics.com/IAS/iasresh.htm
http://www.birdparadise.biz/details3.html
I could list more, but the above should give you some idea of what the
avian community has done and is doing.
People have asked about donations that have been made to the ADV research
program in the past. Most of that money was used to create and validate
the ADV tests that are now being offered commercially by UGA. Usually,
the first step in a research endeavor like this one is to develop both
qualitative and quantitative methods to measure things.
Finally, when I last posted anything about UGA and the research, I was
asked why I felt I had the right to speak for Dr. Ritchie, Kate, or the
UGA. The short answer is, I don't. However, there are times that I
contact them with questions or concerns, and they ask me to share the
answer with the ferret online community. They probably figure that if I
have the questions, others do to. By asking me to share the information,
it cuts down on the number of times they have to answer the questions.
Additionally, I have interviewed both Kate and Dr. Ritchie for articles
I have written, and the understanding is that the information they give
me will be shared with the (online) ferret community.
That said, I would not discourage anyone from contacting Dr. Ritchie
themselves, if they have any questions about the ADV research program. I
provided all of his contact information, so that people can do just that.
--
Danee DeVore
International Ferret Congress Health Issues Coordinator
http://www.ferretcongress.org
ADV - If your ferret hasn't been tested, you don't know!
For more information visit: http://www.ferretadv.com
You can help fight ADV!
Visit: http://help4adv.terrabox.com/
[Posted in FML issue 5362]
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