I also have something to add to something Sukie said in her last  post:

>That ferrets do not pose a rabies risk because there are effective
>vaccines and even in the very cases in which they have been infects
>they tend to die before they could pass it. Hence, although there is a
>hypothetical risk and the risk could not be said to be zero there has
>never worldwide been any case recorded of ferrets passing on rabies to
>anyone.

I've done a little research on rabies in ferrets (read several owner's
books and quite a few veterinarian books borrowed from a local college)
and from what I've read, ferrets do not pass the virus to another
animal or person at all. According to a recent study, only a negligible
amount of the rhabdovirus (the virus that causes rabies) is found in
the ferret's saliva . Furthermore, ferrets contract DUMB rabies, not
FURIOUS rabies. Animals with dumb rabies are very lethargic and ill.
They don't want anything to do with other animals or humans - they
don't have the energy to attack and they die more quickly than animals
who contract furious rabies. Animals with furious rabies are very
aggressive, bites, and foams at the mouth. In the last 10 years there
have actually been more cases of rabid humans than rabid ferrets. Most
of you probably already know these facts, but I thought I'd just
post them up in case. And, of course, as Sukie said - ferrets can be
successfully vaccinated against rabies and there has NEVER been a case
worldwide of a ferret passing the virus on to a human or animal.

I've also been speaking with my local shelter about the possibility of
putting up flyers all over my town about animal abuse and neglect and
how they can lead to animal attacks - the flyers won't just be about
ferrets, they'll talk about all animals in general - but they will
also specifically name ferrets as well. Hopefully with a little more
education, people will see that the true fault lies with abusive and
neglectful owners and not with the animal. There has been a lot of
press in my area lately about pit bull attacks because a little toddler
girl had half of her face ripped off by one about a year ago. Her
mother was just taking her for a walk past the dog's house and he ran
out across the lawn and bit the baby. After the dog was destroyed, it
was determined that the dog's owner would often kick the dog, didn't
feed him enough, and was trying to "train" him to be a guard dog by
teaching him to dislike strangers. But of course, people still blame
the poor dog and his breed in general. Anyway, just thought I'd share.

*And just a reminder - don't forget to get your flu shot this season!
They've started getting in the H1N1 vaccinations here so you may be
able to get that as well. Here, it's only available to certain groups
of people. I work at the hospital and it seems like the regular
seasonal flu is hitting most people worse than H1N1. I'm just paranoid
about passing the flu on to other people and my fuzzies! Also - if you
often are around anyone with a compromised immune system (AIDS, HIV,
undergoing chemo for cancer) you probably shouldn't get the flumist
vaccine unless it's the only thing available. If you DO get the
flumist, you will need to avoid anyone with a compromised immune system
for a certain time period - talk to the person giving you the vaccine
or your doctor to find out how long. Some people are told it's a week
and other people have been told it's a month - it depends on you and
the vaccine dose you receive.

Melissa

[Posted in FML 6491]