A few years ago, a very good friend of mine had a young ferret that died of
a wasting disease.  Her vet could not find the cause and nothing they did
helped to save his life.  At that time, I began searching for information
about wasting diseases...Aleutians was one that came up as a possible
cause.  In reading, I found that in the 1980's, Dr. Susan Brown tested 500
ferrets at local shelters here in Illinois.  10% tested positive, but only
2 ever became ill with the disease.
 
In searching the FML archives, I found messages about Aleutians going
back to 1993.  Each year there were a few, then the subject died off.  I
wondered why, since it appeared that this was a supposedly highly
contagious disease, a) it didn't spread to the rest of the ferrets at the
shelters, and to ferrets in homes that adopted from these shelters, and so
on; and b) why knowing about this disease wasn't causing any kind of panic
among the ferret community that reads the FML.  I assumed that everyone
must know more than I did and simply knew that, although, contagious, very
few ferrets ever got sick from it (which is true), so they weren't that
worried.  After all, adrenal disease and insulinoma and other cancers kill
far more ferrets.  Still, I thought the breeders really should be testing
before breeding and the shelters testing before adopting out, even if no
one else tested.  But no mention was ever made of that, so I figured you
more experienced people had a better handle on Aleutians that I did.  Now,
*suddenly*, there is a huge scare about Aleutians Disease.  Names are being
dragged through the mud, accusations are being made all over the place...
and I have to wonder "why?" Why now?  Please don't misunderstand...I
believe the things being done for research, a better test, a potential
vaccine, etc., are long overdue and necessary, but WHY NOW?  This disease
has been around for at least 20 years...and has been talked about on the
FML for 7 years.  All the literature states that, while contagious, very
few ferrets actually get sick from it.  Of course, even one ferret dying
from it is too many...or from adrenal disease, insulinoma, lymphoma, etc.
Of course we need to do research...no doubt about it.  In fact, it seems
like it should have been started long, long before now.  As an "outsider"
to the breeding and/or shelter community...but as someone who has read a
lot on the FML, has done research, as well as talking to other people,
breeders and non-breeders...I would be interested in having all breeders,
(and shelters for that matter), that have been consistently testing for ADV
(before breeding or adopting out) over the past 7 years to privately e-mail
me (or post here if any results I would report would be questioned).  I'd
like to conduct an informal survey.  I would like to know just how much of
a "concern" this disease has been until recently.  And I'll tell you all
why I'd like to see such a survey done.  From *my* view, it *looks* like
one or two...shall we say "unpopular"...people who breed have had some of
their ferrets test positive for ADV, and that this entire brouhaha is being
brought about in an attempt to discredit them in yet one more way.  So I am
really hoping that all breeders and shelter people have been testing for
this disease all along and are not "people in glass houses, throwing
stones".  I'm hoping that the only goals here are to get people to fund
further research and see if a vaccine is possible and that there is no
"hidden" agenda.
 
Anne, I'm not a PR person, but even I know that "unsubstantiated reports of
outbreaks in NZ" would have been far better language than "reported
outbreaks" (seeing as you didn't go on to say reported by whom), although I
honestly don't believe Sam Young is the breeder that particular "jibe" was
aimed at.
 
Judy
[Posted in FML issue 2945]