From the Hillyer & Quesenberry medical book, I understand that the illness
is called Mycobacteriosis, for ferrets.  It can be detected in the small
intestine, liver, spleen and lymph nodes from a biopsy of the tissue,
including histopathology with acid-fast staining and culture.  The down
side of the Mycobacteriosis is, because of the zoonotic potential,
treatment is not recommended.  The up-side of the infectious nature has
been in the research and farm ferrets in England, Europe, and New Zealand.
It's associated with the feeding of raw meat, poultry, and unpasteurized
dairy products.  When infected with this bacterium, ferrets are
unresponsive to treatment.  This has me thinking, that maybe imports from
these countries could infect our fuzzies in the US.  Like we need another
health problem.  Does the US have a Quarantine for ferrets from these
countries ?  If I'm wrong, correct me.  These are my words with a little
help from a Medical Book.  No flames.  But, we might need to start asking
questions about Mycobacteriosis.  Do we already have it in this country?...
does your average vet have any experience in diagnosing this culprit?...how
contagious it is?
 
[log in to unmask]
[Posted in FML issue 2593]