Judy Gronwold <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
>Subject: ADV positive ferret in Chicago, Illinois area
>...He does, however, recommend testing.  He also stressed that, any home
>or facility where even one ferret tests positive, should be immediately
>"closed", with no ferrets coming in, and no ferrets going out except for
>visits to the vet.  My home is now under quarantine, per his instructions,
 
With all respect to Dr. Williams, I think this is a bit too radical.
 
ADV has existed in the ferret community for *many* years.  Dr. Brown's
testing in the 1980's found that 10% (50) of 500 ferrets tested positive
for ADV, yet only 2 ferrets went on to develop signs of the disease.  That
works out to 0.4% of ferrets developing signs of ADV.
 
I certainly have seen no evidence that ADV is speading like wildfire.
However, it is getting more press because there are 3127 of us on this
list who get information immediately.  Why is everyone panicing now?
 
Frankly, I'm more worried about lymphoma and cardiomyopathy.  Dr. Brown
says in "Ferrets, Rabbits, and Rodents" that "occasionally, siblings or
several cohabiting ferrets are affected.  Preliminary transmission data
suggest that a viral agent may be involved."  Could some forms of
cardiomyopathy also be caused by a virus?  I no longer attend outreach
programs or take my animals to any ferret events.  I've seen way too many
healthy animals devastated by diseases they have contracted from people.
This, too, is a bigger concern to me than ADV.
 
Of the 22 ferrets I've shared my life with, 5 have died from lymphoma and 5
from cardiomyopathy.  That's 22.0% of my ferrets dying from lymphoma and
22.0% dying from cardiomyopathy.  All of these ferrets came from the same
"shelter" where I adopted them many years ago.  Yet if I were to call for
closing that "shelter" because of the high incidence of lymphoma and
cardiomyopathy, I'd be laughed off of this forum.
 
Yes, it would be good to stop ADV transmission, but knowledge is power.  I
*personally* think that the community that breeds ferrets should be testing
their ferrets since this appears to be a primary vector for infection.  Any
ferret that tests positive should not be used for breeding (duh).  They
should also let buyers know the ADV status of the animals in their care
so the buyers can make their own decision.
 
But I'll bet that testing for ADV will be like gun ownership.  The only
people who license their guns are the those who have nothing to hide.
 
Judy, my heart goes out to you since this was obviously a difficult
decision.  Given the insane response others have gotten to their disclosure,
I can only hope that you are treated better.
 
-Carla (who knows how to use the delete key)
[Posted in FML issue 2952]