To Debbie Riccio: (better late than never):
 
>when discussing a vaccine for ECE with my vet, he said it wouldn't help my
>ferrets because they'd already been exposed.  Pam Grant said the same thing
>in her ECE post this AM.
>My question is, why not?
 
    Once we have isolated the virus and developed a vaccine, boosters for
naive ferrets (who have not had ECE) on a yearly basis would be required in
order to boost their immune system's ability to recognize and fight the
virus.  But we don't know enough about this virus to say whether a shot
would help an animal which has already had the virus.  In theory, the animal
should have immunity from the infection which would destroy the vaccine
virus.
 
    We boost flu yearly in humans, but that is different.  We are vaccinate
against a different flu strain each year.  We don't know if the rare cases
of reinfection are do to different strains, or just inherent defects in the
immune systems of some affected ferrets.  From the low numbers of ferrets
which are re-infected with ECE, I would say that it is more of an individual
thing.  We don't see widespread outbreaks of reinfection, so I would assume
that there is only one strain at this time, or a group of strains with
almost identical physical makeup, so that the body can recognize all current
strains.
 
>Would a vaccine be helpful to any kits my previously affected jills
>or exposed jills would have?  What if just the hob had had ECE and not the
>jill - could kits get ECE thru sperm or semen?  Or just via the jill if
>she gets ECE from semen?  Can the jill get ECE from semen of a previously
>exposed hob?
 
    Currently, I don't know anything about ECE in semen.
 
Bruce H. Williams, DVM         Dept. of Veterinary Pathology
Chief Pathologist, AccuPath    Armed Forces Institute of Pathology
[log in to unmask]         Washington, D.C.  20306-6000
                               [log in to unmask]
[Posted in FML issue 1257]