Dear WebMD Editor in charge of MedicineNet content,
 
Sadly,
 
http://www.medicinenet.com/rabies/article.htm
 
which is administered by WebMD STILL contains this as of this
afternoon, 8/26/06:
 
>What animals carry rabies?
>
>In the United States, domesticated dogs and cats are not primary
>carriers of the rabies virus. Rather, raccoons, skunks, foxes,
>bats, and ferrets are more likely to harbor the disease and
>directly infect humans. When domesticated pets are infected, there
>may be a history of previous interaction with these wild animals.
 
so while WebMD itself has better content, your staff needs to correct
MedicineNet, still.  I think it must be a typo where someone meant to
put in "raccoons" which are a major vector species but thought "mask"
and wrote in "ferrets" because it has NEVER been true that ferrets are
a rabies vector, let alone a major one.
 
There has NEVER been a case of transmission of rabies to a human or
anything else WORLDWIDE.  This is probably because the ferrets have
died before the brain stage is over so the virus doesn't get a chance
to pass intact from the brain which is the final point when the
infectious stage begins in animals which transmit rabies.  Might it
happen at some point in the future with a ferret?  Yes, because in
studies (U.S., France, and Germany) something like perhaps a half
dozen or fewer of the test animals in total have passed *inviable*
virus segments to the saliva from the brain, so one very hardy
individual might *someday* survive long enough to pass enough viable
virus to be infectious but it has not happened to date so in some
studies they and polecats are treated as dead-end species for the
infection.  Nor do ferrets even acquire rabies easily.  Unlike dogs
they can not be infected by eating an infected animal, early studies
had to perfect a way to infect ferrets by direct transmission of the
virus to the Central Nervous System because it was so hard to get
infection to survive in them otherwise, and ferrets these days are
commonly indoor animals so unlikely to be exposed.
 
(BTW, there are many millions of pet ferrets in United States alone.
Ken Wells of the Wall Street Journal estimated several years ago that
ferrets then made up about 2 billion (one 16th) of the then 32 billion
dollars spent annually on pets in the U.S.  In addition, ferrets have
had an effective rabies vaccine which meets strict USDA standards since
1990, and ferrets have had the same public health recommendations as
dogs and cats since Nov.  1997 (published Jan.  1998) due to extensive
studies.  Note, too (in the Rutgers public health presentation link
below) that rabbits were 4 times more likely (and cats over 100 times
more likely) to to be found having acquired rabies (per specimen) than
ferrets in the years covered, and in materials by Dr. Freddie Ann
Hoffman, pediatrician, that the rate of severe bites by ferrets (***per
capita animal***) was the same in national figures as that of severe
bites by pet rabbits.  That is not to say that rabbits or cats are
bad pets because they are wonderful pets, but it does get across that
ferrets have been demonized to an unwarranted degree.  Wrongly "accusing"
them through that typo of being a major vector of a disease they have
NEVER transmitted makes MedicineNet look more like an unscientific
propaganda tool than a resource based upon actual facts -- and that
undermines your reputation as a resource.  With millions of ferret
people in the U.S.  alone that makes for a real predicament if that
typo is not rapidly corrected.)
 
It would make sense to use a link in each of your rabies articles to
the main rabies CDC page which is a wonderful resource:
http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/dvrd/rabies/
 
Here are some reputable references.  The two most knowledgeable sources
of information on rabies in the United States are the CDC's rabies
branch (medical and transmission aspects), and the National Association
of State Public Health Veterinarians which is composed to experts who
are BOTH veterinarians AND epidemiologists (vectors and much more).
 
>Some resources which ARE UP TO DATE and based upon facts rather
>than supposition or typos:
>E-mail:  [log in to unmask]  (YES, you CAN verify fact on rabies with
>the CDC itself.  Dr. Charles Rupprecht heads the division and is a
>wonderful soul.)
> http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/dvrd/rabies/Ques&Ans/q&a.htm
> http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/dvrd/rabies/default.htm
> http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/rr5403a1.htm
> http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/dvrd/rabies/Professional/professi.htm
> http://www.nasphv.org/
> http://s94745432.onlinehome.us/RabiesCompendium.pdf
 
These may also prove useful:
https://njlmn.rutgers.edu/cdr/docs/Breakout3_Campbell_Frese.pdf
http://www.peteducation.com/article.cfm?cls=11&cat=1283&articleid=562
http://www.avma.org/communications/brochures/rabies/rabies_brochure.asp
http://www.cste.org/
specifically
http://www.cste.org/pdffiles/2006/2006RabiesCompendium.pdf
http://www-personal.ksu.edu/~sprite/RABIES.HTML
http://www.ferret-fact.org/Rabies.htm
http://www.mass.gov/dph/cdc/epii/rabies/rabdcf.htm
http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/dvrd/rabies/ques&ans/rabies_q_a_.pdf
http://www.michigan.gov/documents/rabies_pets_flowchart_134247_7.pdf
http://www.uga.edu/scwds/topic_index/1998/FerretRabiesPolicyChanged.pdf
<http://chfs.ky.gov/NR/rdonlyres/
51133FDB-C335-4BF9-B786-3499BF88D2C1/0/RABIES200613.pdf>
(It is not unusual to find any state's health dept. providing info
like this)
http://chfs.ky.gov/dph/epi/rabies.htm
http://www.oneidacounty.org/oneidacty/gov/dept/health/Rabies/
2006ClinicScheduleRabies.pdf
http://www.trifl.org/politics.shtml
Freddie Ann Hoffman, MD; FDA Veterinarian; May/June 1991; Vol VI
 
and there are many more
 
PLEASE, PROMPTLY CORRECT THAT MedicineNet TYPO WHICH HAS *NEVER* BEEN
ACCURATE.
 
-- Sukie Crandall
[Posted in FML issue 5347]