I have not posted out on this subject before, because I did not want to cause any hysteria in the ferret community. Since others are now discussing it again, I feel it is time for me to speak up. I am doing this in several parts, because it is long. I am one of the people that has been directly affected, and can speak with some firsthand knowledge. I have no interest in ruining anyone, and in fact, I do not blame anyone for what has happened to me. Blaming only shifts responsibility of a problem, and does nothing to solve it. My interest now, is to try and prevent what has happened to me from happening to someone else. For the benefit of those on this list that have not been a part of recent events, I will go back to a ferret show in July. At this show, another breeder and I took possession of 3 ferrets from another person at the show. A few days later, this third person turned most of her remaining ferrets into a shelter. Shortly after that, one of the ferrets at the shelter became very ill, and eventually had to be put down. Necropsy revealed that the ferret was suffering from clinical Aleutians Disease, or ADV. While no one attempted to keep information from me, I was not made aware of the cause of the ferrets illness until over 2 months later. By that time, my own ferrets had been thoroughly exposed to the jill that had come back to me. I did some initial spot testing of my ferrets, and found several tested positive for ADV, and so I closed my ferretry and withdrew from any future ferret shows. In November I did thorough testing of my ferrets, and found that 7 out of 31 test positive for ADV. At that time, none of them were actually sick, but even that has changed. I now have a 5 year old neutered male, Hershey, that has started showing signs of clinical Aleutians. Additional blood tests have also indicated that in Hershey, the disease is now active. One of the terrible things about this disease is that there has been very little research done on it, and most of what has been done has been in relation to mink. Another terrible thing is that a ferret can appear perfectly healthy, but be carrying the disease. Aleutians is not new, although there have not been many reported cases of it in the States in recent years. There is a situation in Texas that many may be aware of, and now there is a situation on the East Coast of the US. This is not an epidemic, only a few cases. But, if people are not careful, the problem could spread. My first recommendation to people that are concerned about ADV is that they have their ferrets tested. The only place I am aware of in the US that commercially offers testing for ADV is United Vaccines. They charge $15.00 for the fist sample, and $10.00 for each additional sample sent in. The test only requires a small amount of blood, and United will sell you the supplies, so this is something everyone could do themselves. For several reasons, I chose to work with my vet on gathering the samples, and we figured with materials, shipping fees and the hourly wage of the vet techs that worked with me it worked out to about $14.00 a ferret. Just because a ferret tests positive does not mean it is going to get sick. Unfortunately, the test is only for antibodies, which simply means that the ferret has been exposed. At this time there is not a commercially available test that will tell you whether or not the ferret will get sick can spread the disease. One of the vets I have been working with has treated cases of ADV in the past, and based on his experience, he believes that ferrets only shed the disease when it is in an active state. That is, when they are initially exposed, and anytime they become ill from it. And the disease is not always deadly. Some ferrets may have attacks, and then go into a period of remission. Please note that I used the words 'believes' and 'based on his experience'. As I said earlier, there is very little concrete information about this disease. [Second post follows, combined with first above. BIG] I have spoken with Shirley by phone, and I have expressed that IMHO she needs to have her ferrets retested before allowing them around other ferrets. I do not doubt that she had them tested, and that the results were negative, but the tests were run early. It takes at least 6 to 8 weeks for the antibodies to show up, and may take several months. Shirley had her test done, based on what she has told me, at about 6 or 7 weeks. I am not criticizing Shirley, she did test her ferrets and she did let people know what the situation was. She just may need to go one step further. I am not saying that the Warm Fuzzy Show scheduled for Feb. should be canceled. That is that club's decision to make. But, I think Shirley should not take any ferrets to the show, unless they have been retested, for the protection of others. Again, this is my opinion. I have no interest in destroying that show. In fact, I offered to come up and help Shirley if she would dedicate the show to ADV Awareness, would have an ADV knowledgeable vet as a speaker and would set up an Aleutians testing clinic there. My concern is the safety of other ferrets. Now, on to another part of this discussion. I do not always agree with Pat Stauffer on issues. There are times when I tell her we have to agree to disagree. I have told her that she is occasionally a little blunt in expressing her opinions. In turn, she has said I try too hard to be politically correct. Perhaps we are both a little right. What I do know is that Pat is very knowledgeable on ferret health issues, and has many good contacts for additional information. Pat has been very supportive to me in the last few months, helping me get information, and putting me in touch with professionals that can offer suggestions for dealing with my situation. She has expressed concern for my ferrets well being, and has offered her own suggestions as well. She is interested in trying to find funding for an ADV research project, just as I am. Since this side of the coin has not been previously shown, I just wanted to make others aware. I believe that her primary concern has been making people aware of the situation, so that everyone can make their own decision based on all the information. Best wishes to everyone in the New Year. Danee DeVore [Posted in FML issue 2916]