Several threads to respond to.  First, Bruce Williams wondered if he would
be too inflammatory if he compared distemped in ferrets to the fatality seen
in Ebola [Reston] infections in humans.  Not at all.  During the latest
outbreak of Ebola-Zaire in Ivory Coast about two years ago, about 85% of
those infected died.  Given that case-fatality rate, distemper in ferrets is
much more lethal than Ebola-Zaire.  Distemper may even be nastier since it
takes longer to die.  At least Ebola-Zaire is relatively quick.  (BTW, I
specify Ebola *Zaire* because there is also Ebola-Reston, which has not yet
caused a fatality in humans, and is actually from the Philippines and not
from Africa, although Ebola-Reston *can* be fatal in some Asian macaques.)
 
Adrienne Boerger asked about colds in ferrets.  This may sound like
splitting hairs to everyone, but I'm an infectious disease person so I
*have* to that ferrets are susceptible to influenza...specifically influenza
A (presumably they can get influenza B and C, too, but I haven't seen that
documented).  I haven't seen any real documentation that ferrets get the
cold, or if they *do* get the common cold, which of the many cold viruses
are pathogenic in ferrets.  (In humans, the common cold is caused by
rhinoviruses, adenoviruses and coronaviruses [yes, a somewhat-related cousin
of the purported-cause of ECE], and probably a few viruses I'm not thinking
of right now.  There are literally hundreds of different strains of these
cold viruses, which is why you're never totally "immune" to the common
cold.) I'm not saying that ferrets cannot get cold viruses...just that it
hasn't been scientifically documented if they do, and which specific viruses
are passed from human to ferret.
 
Finally, Trish mentioned that the worst part about ECE is the fear of it.  I
would certainly echo her comments about fearing ECE.  However, I'd still
urge caution in purposely exposing young ferrets, especially kits to ECE.
The word is that ECE is a coronavirus, in which case, it's worth noting that
some intestinal coronaviruses are *more* lethal in very young (e.g.,
recently weaned) animals.  There's a mouse coronavirus called Mouse
Hepatitis Virus that is much more devastating in young mouse pups.  Since
ECE isn't characterized yet, it's hard to say if it's similar to other
intestinal coronaviruses.  But, until ECE *is* identified, it's still
prudent to try to avoid all exposure when possible, especially to very
young, old and otherwise debilitated ferrets.  Obviously, it's not always
possible to avoid exposure in settings such as shelters.  However, those who
take their ferrets to shows, especially where many people travel from far
away to convene, should be very cautious about exposures and hygiene and
demand stringent measures to limit possible spread of ECE by show
coordinators.  Until we know what ECE really is and have a test for it,
we'll all need to be vigilant to prevent unnecessary spread of the virus.
 
BTW, for those interested, there's a recent article in the journal,
"Emerging Infectious Diseases" on techniques for detecting unculturable
pathogens...like ECE.  The info in this article won't be of direct use for
99% of vets out there, but it might be worth pointing your vet to it if
he/she has seen ECE or other mystery bugs and wants to investigate further
but doesn't know what is available.  Vets who have access to research
universities or vet schools with molecular biology labs would be able to use
the information in this paper.  The article is available on the Web and I
can direct interested people to it.  (Note: It is *very* technical and heavy
on the molecular biology.)
 
--Jeff Johnston, ([log in to unmask])
[Posted in FML issue 1670]