Hello Everyone;
 
First let me say that Aleutian (AD AS we call it) is more common than most
folks realize.  I first heard of AD in Oct of "97.  Not a lot of info just
an AD alert that Oklahoma and Texas were infected with it.  In or about
April of "98 we took into our care home some ferrets from upstate.  Upon
arrival two became very ill.  I assumed it was due to the fact that they
were shipped to so many homes.  All the supportive treatment did no good.
We did blood work, x-rays trying to pin down the why.  All were negative.
I finally announced to our vet that I wanted to test for AD.  The two
sickest were tested and they came back positive.  I thought my world (as I
knew it ) had ended.  I contacted Dr. B.  William's and he said to retest
through the other Co.  We did-the original two and their cage mates and all
four were positive.  We then tested every ferret in our house.  If I go
back into my records I can tell you exact numbers.  I believe there were 12
of 45.  Most of them being our personals.  Seven succumbed to the disease
almost immediately.With the help of our vet, Dr. B.  William's, Mary Van
Dahm, and others we started to learn more about this insidious disease.
We isolated the positives from the negatives.  We also bleach and water
everything we touch after coming in contact with the positives.  That
includes changing clothes and shoes.  The consensus is that it is
transferable through your clothing.  In the AFA report-volume 9-number 6,
1998 they featured AD.  Dr. M Bloom of the Rocky Mountain Laboratory for
Persistent Viral Diseases if working diligently for a cure for AD.  He has
confirmed that this is a virus.  AD is not rare.  It is in Utah, Alabama,
Texas, Michigan and Oklahoma.  We have some info on AD at our web site.
All the positives are fine for now.  It has been over a year since we were
confirmed with this disease.  We continue to test.  I sincerely hope and
pray that they will find a vaccine and/or cure for our babies.  BTW
www.mkaresq.com Sorry for the long post.  Yes, they are still isolated.
They will be for the remainder of their lives.  They run, play and act like
regular ferts.  That is why it is so hard to detect until they actually
start showing the symptoms.
 
Thank you for your time.
 
Mary
http://www.iGive.com/html/ssi.cfm?cid=3D6431&mid=3D87568
[Posted in FML issue 2793]