>We are among those who have had a lympho clump. > >The hypothesis that there might be a viral trigger for some cases was >investigated for a while at the Dept. of Comparative Medicine of MIT, >but they didn't find a culprit. That doesn't mean that such a silent >viral contributor doesn't exist; it is just a reflection of how very >difficult such studies are. In the mid 90's, Sue Erdman published that lymphoma could be spread by a cell-free inoculum between an animal with lymphoma and a normal healthy one (actually 4/6 in this study developed). This is strong evidence that a virus in involved, as the filtering system used would also filter out bacteria. There are a number of animal species that have viruses that can cause lymphoma - with the most common culprits being retroviruses and herpesviruses. However, there was no success at isolating the virus, and when I most recently talked with Sue about six months ago, she is no longer investigating lymphoma in ferrets, so it is doubtful that further work along these lines is forthcoming from MIT. (This is not uncommon in the research world, as research is quite expensive, and today, only funded experiments go forward. Regarding the original question about aspirating nodes - if the nodes are indeed enlarged, then an aspirate is always a good idea. Remember that fat often accumulates around the nodes of older ferrets, causing them to appear enlarged. However, an aspirate is a very safe, relatively painless procedure that can usually be done without general anesthesia. With kindest regards, Bruce Williams, DVM [Posted in FML issue 3623]