Here is a discussion which delves into many of the aspects on this terrible problem in the only (1) location which is encountering it: http://www.smartgroups.com/message/viewdiscussion.cfm? gid=1423922&messageid=12050 BTW, there has already been someone off-list needlessly using the word "ebola" so I stayed up and did some digging. These will ease fears: http://www.brettrussell.com/personal/truth_about_dogs___cats.html http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/dvrd/spb/mnpages/dispages/ebola.htm *Possible* ebola vectors if exposed well enough (Note that no members of Carnivora are in there and members have been tested in the wild -- yes, I checked.): primates rodents bats insects (AGAIN: note that members of Carnivora like ferrets, cats, and dogs are not included.) Mentioned repeatedly as most likely of those postulated if exposed well enough: primates Personally, I doubt the shelter is feeding the ferrets, cats, and dogs diseased OW monkeys, apes, or prosimians... and of course there would have to be an exposure and that is NOT easy to come by outside parts of Africa (though it has happened with the Reston strain that is an unusually gentle strain of the disease). Plus, there isn't even at this point any reason to think that any members of Carnivora could get ebola let alone pass it along, and there would have to be that exposure... Yes, I have been hitting the internet and books tonight. Oh, and ferrets have been purposely exposed to Hanta without catching it according to Fox's text, and that presents differently, anyway, in those species which get it... Fire engine red presentation tends to make a person think of marked capillary dilation. I was not able to find any hemolytic viruses which ferrets get, but there are some bacterial possibilities (esp. salmonella in the way it presents in some according to Fox's text), there was a past mutant strain of coccidia which had massive sudden blood of the protozoa causing intestinal perforation, etc. There is some info on these in the discussion. Right now I am hoping that a pathologist or two may be around despite the holidays to chime in. Meanwhile, use precautions and isolation of that SINGLE (1) affected location in case it is something contagious, and test, test, test. It may not be anything contagious, but in case a new nasty strain of something is showing up as happened years ago with that mutant coccidia strain it's best to isolate it, find it, and treat it, then continue isolation for a while (months or whatever pathologists and infectious disease experts advise) to be sure it is truly gone. [Posted in FML issue 4745]