I don't know if I have mentioned this on the FML or not - forgive me if I
repeat myself.....
 
I'm fairly confident that ECE (the greenies) has infiltrated the pet
distribution system, at least here in Virginia and Maryland.  What this
means is that buying a ferret at a pet shop is no longer a gurantee that it
is clean and not carrying ECE.
 
Seems this pet shop chain in MD & VA got some kits from the main distributor
here in the area, and since the kits were so young, they were kept in the
back until they grew a bit (I work very hard with many pet shops around here
as you can tell).  Anyway, they got in another kit from the same distributor
(all MF ferrets BTW) and since it was small too, it went in back with the
others.  Within days they came down with greenies.  The vet working with the
pet shop identified ECE as the probable cause.  In Maryland (where these
kits are/were), it is illegal to sell in a commercial sense any animal that
has a reoccuring or contagious illness.  These kits are fine now, and have
probably been transferred to a Virginia location/shop, but shouldn't be sold
to any present ferret owner for fear of passing on the illness (ECE).
 
I just wanted to let those of you out there know that this is NOT an
isolated incident.  I know of other families (some on the FML) who brought
home ferrets from the pet shop just to get ECE in their older ferrets.  You
can NOT order ferrets directly from MF and some other ferret farms (these
places are reported to still be clean), but there are some ferret sellers
who have ECE and will not admit it or do not care.
 
PLEASE be careful in adding new ferrets to your household.  If you have ECE
in your area, and have younger ferrets at home - IMHO - expose them now.
This virus will not be going away any time soon (I've dealth with it 3.5
years now) and there is no more funding to support research into ECE.  It
has yet to be cultured, which is the first step in getting a vaccine made.
 
If you have ferrets 4 years and older, wait until they pass on before
getting a new ferret.  If you have a mixed age household - the decision is
yours whether to expose now or maybe later.
 
Pam Grant / STAR*
[Posted in FML issue 1629]