Edward Lipinski wrote:
>3.  Neither the vet nor the physician, any one of several contacted, would
>write a letter to Ferrets NorthWest stating what Edward Lipinski wanted
>expressed in plain old simple American english, the following.
>4.  I, ___________________ MD or DVM, guarantee, without equivocation, that
>any future owner of ferret,__________________, >absolutely can not and will
>not contract the viral disease known as HIV/ AIDS from said ferret.
 
I'm not surprised that any of the contacted physicians or veterinarians
would refuse to sign the above instrument.  Given that most physicians are
not HIV specialists or familiar with disease models in ferrets and that
veterinarians rarely encounter the virus unless they routinely treat simian
patients, how can they be expected to guarantee that transmission is
impossible?  Why I'm not sure that it is possible for ferrets to carry this
virus, given the current litigious nature of this society, a
medical/veterinary professional would have to be an idiot to sign this
document without a valid test of the animal.  That's assuming the ELISA test
is even accurate using ferret blood.  By the way, did you talk to any
physicians who specialize in the treatment of infectious diseases?
 
Bryan McCullough
[Posted in FML issue 1826]