I am posting this as two sections because the message in it's entirity was
rejected as being too long. [Combined into 1. BIG]
 
I am not confusing Jeff Johnston with "the enemy".  I am merely commenting
that, as he freely admits, he speaks their language.  Including the many
partial truths that are so convincingly used to mislead the unknowing public
when it comes to ferrets, rabies, shedding studies, and post exposure
treatment.
 
Let me address a few of these as well as clarify my original points.
 
>Brain biopsy or dissection is the only truly reliable test right now.
>That's not a happy truth, but it *is* the truth.
 
Not true!  As I said this is the only currently *accepted* test at this
time.  There are tests which detect the presence of rabies in saliva and
spinal fluid which are currently at least as reliable as the the
immunoflouressnce antibody testing (pardon my spelling but I'm too lazy to
go to the bookcase to look it up).  These, however, are not the current
standard and public health is slow to change to a new method over an old
accepted one.  As for the reliability of the current testing, I have read a
study which shows that, depending on who is doing the testing (federal,
state, county or private labs), the error rate can be as high as 82% with an
average of over 40% (mostly false postives).  This is because there is no
standardized "kit" for the test.  When asked about the high error rates most
public health officials I have dealt with will either deny that this is true
or explain that they cover themsleves against these errors by testing
multiple samples.  Remember, the current test is responsible for the only
two *confirmed* false positives in ferrets.
 
In regards to the "external validity" of the European studies...
Dr. Sikes, (the man responsible for establishing the quarantine period for
dogs in the US) addressing the NASPHV Rabies Compendium Committee, described
the data he used to determine the quarantine as follows: Data from the
studies of Drs. Blancou and Aubert of the Ministry of Agriculture, Center
for Rabies Studies, conducted under a grant from the World Health
Organization (WHO) and backed by over 40 years of imperical data.  When
asked about the data in ferrets which at the time was: Data from the studies
of Drs. Blancou and Aubert of the Ministry of Agriculture, Center for
Rabies Studies, conducted under a grant from the World Health Organization
(WHO) and backed by CDC Rabies surveillence since 1952.  His only comment
was that "That's completely different" and then fell silent on the subject.
 
The strains of rabies which have currently been tested in the ferret are:
Vole, Fox, and North American Skunk.  There is currently another study
gearing up which will probably look at either Raccoon or Bat.  Add to this
the studies (I believe by Bell) which show that ferrets cannot contract
rabies via an oral route and that all strains seem to react pretty much the
same in the ferret.  This is already more data on more strains than were
tested to establish a quarantine for dogs.  How much is enough??
 
>If you are a public health director, what do you say to a parent whose
>child has been bitten by a stray animal?
 
How about the truth?  The same truth you would use if it were a stray dog or
cat.
 
>Rabies is one of the few viral illnesses that is 100% fatal in humans once
>symptoms develop.
 
This is the best example of a partial truth being used to scare the hell out
of the general public and encourage cooperation in the kill and test
process.  Let's look calmly at the *facts*.  Rabies is a very fragile virus.
Human resistance to viral infection is quite good.  Rabies is not adapted to
a human host.  Even if you are bitten by an obviously rabid, foaming at the
mouth animal, your chances of contracting rabies from a single exposure are,
at best, 15-20%.  Rabies can be effectively treated in humans with near 100%
results up to the time clinical signs begin, which in humans can be months
or *years* depending on the severity of the bite and it's location.  If
caught immediately rabies can still be treated with a 1-3 chance upon onset
of symptoms.  I am only aware or 3 complete recoveries from rabies once full
onset of clinical signs began, but will yield to you on the point that there
have been 5.  This is with an obviously rabid animal!  In the case of a
healthy, vaccinated, housebound pet, whose history is known to be without
possible exposure for the last 120 or more days your chances of dying from
rabies from a bite from this animal are slightly less than those of being
hit by a falling DC-10 piloted by a Korean pilot, with a Swedish co-pilot,
who both speak Turkish as a second language, and who will each win the
lottery the next time they play.  Yet I've heard many a public health
official scare the hell out of the bite victim by telling them that, once
bitten by a ferret, if the animal is not killed they will probably die.  I
put this kind of irresponsibility in the same category as shout fire in a
crowded theater.  Why not be truthful and realistic about the risk??
 
I personally believe that additional studies may make them feel better but
what will convince them to change their ways is forcing them to suffer the
consequences of their "shortcuts".  A **REASONABLE** risk assesment using
the same criteria that you would use to determine whether or not there is a
need to quarantine as for a dog or cat would eliminate the need to take any
action in over 90% of all ferret bites.  If public health does not feel
comfortable quaranting without further data (I personally believe this
excuse is only a red herring to divert our attention from the fact that they
are not doing risk assesment) I understand, "Better to err on the side of
caution".  They should be allowed to kill and test every rabies suspect
ferret involved in a bite incident.  Every *RABIES SUSPECT* ferret.  But
they need to justify why they believe this particular animal is suspect, how
it was exposed to a rabies vector or that is is showing suspicious behaviour
or signs.  Until someone can show me studies that ferrets are unique in that
they can spontaneously generate rabies in a closed environment I refuse to
accept "because it's a ferret and we don't have enough data" as a legitimate
reason to suspect rabies.  The ferret community is having increasing success
applying the principles of emminant domain to recovering the costs of their
animals.  With the limited budgets and number of animals tested each year by
public health this could have a chilling effect on the automatic kill and
test policies and strongly encourage them to eliminate the need to test as
many animals through risk assesment, which BTW is a part of the CDC's
reccomendations and a part of many laws and statutes.
 
So Sorry about the long post.  I'll put my soapbox away and go back to
lurking for a while.
[Posted in FML issue 1551]