[Moderator's note: This is being forwarded to the FML via Kat [log in to unmask] at the request of Dr. Mark Burgess. And I trust Kat 100%, but I also happened to confirm it with Dr. Burgess! BIG] >Hi Kat, thanks for the note... now for another take on this new illness. In recent months we have seen a number of cases of a new and clinically unique disease in young ferrets, aged 5 to 12 months, from Marshall Farms. The patients exhibit fever, muscle pain and reluctance to move, and severe depression. Moderate to severe anemias often occur, but then suddenly may resolve. Some patients exhibit lymph node enlargement, often in only one node. The main hallmark of this disease, however, is the extreme white cell (neutrophil) counts in these patients. Early on the WBC count may be only moderately elevated, but as the condition progresses the white count elevates to extreme levels, usually over 20,000 and sometimes as high as 90,000. Fevers are common, white counts well over 20,000 (neutrophils) are virtually unheard of until now (and something which I would have bet considerable money was impossible for a ferret to achieve, until this disease came along.) My pathogist agrees this is a new and distinct entity from anything we have seen before, including widespread bacterial sepsis (which we see with some regularity in ferrets). (FYI my pathologist is Dr. Mike Garner at NorthWest Zoopath, an exotics pathologist with excellent scientific acumen and very very sharp... large zoos in the U.S. also use him as their chief pathologist, which should tell you something about the quality of his work. Mike and I have discovered a number of new diseases in exotic pets including ferrets over the years, and I trust his pathology implicitly.) Mike and I have been working on this disease for awhile, as I've seen a number of cases myself, and what we can tell at this point is... the disease does not appear to be bacterial, as the bacteria that have been isolated in a couple of cases are likely secondary pathogens which overwhelm the already weakened patient, not the primary pathogen. Also, the likelihood of an odd bacteria suddenly appearing which produces totally bizarre unheard-of white cell counts AND is resistant to every drug in the book AND is not visible on most pathology samples is extremely small. This illness's clinical peculiarities mark it as a distinct entity from anything we've seen before. The pathology findings are equally unusual, and no significant unusual bacterial isolates have been found, even in cases with very active overwhelming disease. Another interesting note is the tendency for this illness to attack muscle more than other tissues, especially the esophagus. Also the disease is delayed in onset, affecting apparently only ferrets from Marshall Farms which are between 5 and 12 months old, so they've been in a household and away from the breeding facility for quite a while when illness strikes them. To date no other ferrets exposed to these sick ones have developed symptoms. Not typical behavior for a bacterial disease. Dr. Ramsell and myself recently completed an introductory article on this disease which will be published shortly, and which describes in accurate detail what the average veterinarian should look for when seeing this illness.... and the key is the white cell counts, not just fever or lymph node enlargement, which diseases such as lymphoma can also produce. In our opinion, as it stands right now, a new viral disease or defect in the ferret's immune function are the most likely culprits, with bacterial disease being possible but far less likely at this time. The only thing suggesting bacterial disease at this stage is that the white cell response is mostly neutrophils, but there are definitely viral and immune diseases that cause the same type of white cell production, so the presence of neutrophils in the blood and tissue samples is not strong evidence (by itself) that the illness is bacterial. We would love to have help unraveling the riddle of this new and devastating illness. We hopefully are in a good position to figure this disease out. Dr. Garner is a first rate exotics and ferret pathologist, (although he simply works quietly behind the scenes and spends little time talking to the public, so is a well kept secret to most ferret owners.) In addition, at my own clinical practice we have seen probably more cases of this new illness than most other single practices in the U.S. at this time (as far as we can determine), which gives us a chance to note trends and typical clinical appearance of the patients.. Dr. Garner has looked at quite a few cases of this disease already, both our clinic's cases and those of other veterinarians in the U.S. We have some virologists helping out too, and virus isolation studies are in progress at this time. So it would be of great benefit if possible cases which have had biopsy or necropsy could be referred to Dr. Garner for histopath review. Also, if a veterinarian needs to know if he/she is looking at a case of this new disease, they can call or email for a consultation with me (Dr. Burgess) or my associate, Dr. Ramsell. As clinicians seeing live patients, we can recognize whether a living patient is likely to have this new disease sooner than a pathologist, and before any biopsies are taken. There are other illnesses out there which mimic some of the signs of this new illness, and we can guide practitioners in weeding out those other diseases, so as to not confuse the issue. We offer consultations free of charge, simply email us at [log in to unmask] or call at (503-643-2137). We wish all ferret owners the best, and hope to NOT see this disease become more prevalent over time! Best wishes, Mark Burgess, DVM Southwest Animal Hospital / Exotic Animal Practice Beaverton, OR 97007 503-643-2137 Fax: 503-626-7392 [via:] ===== KITY=^..^=KAT's Fuzzy Frenzy [+15](-14)... See how you can HELP SHELTERS... http://ferretlover97.terrabox.com RAFFLE FOR JEAN... http://ferretlover97.terrabox.com/shelterhelp-Jean.html OR: [if my page is down]... http://www.kwflatbed.com/jean/raffle.html HELP JEAN, Ferrets Unlimited, PAGE... http://www.kwflatbed.com/jean/jean.html ..... with links to lots of ebays and raffles to help Jean!!! When you care about others....when you reach out to others.... ...when you give of yourself to others...YOU MAKE A DIFFERENCE! [Posted in FML issue 4408]