http://www.nytimes.com/2006/03/28/science/28viru.html?_r=1&oref=slogin (Registration required) Ferrets are being used for bird flu research at the CDC. Bottom line for ferret lovers: >Ferrets are used for some studies because, unlike mice, they easily >catch human flu viruses and get sick... At the disease centers, >Taronna Maines and Terrence Tumpey have infected ferrets with A (H5N1) >and then monitored them to see ... if the infected animals cough up >the virus or sneeze it out and spread it to healthy ones. It turns >out that ferrets do not transmit the disease easily, though some >healthy animals develop antibodies to the virus, indicating that they >have been exposed. If a strain comes along that is contagious in >ferrets, it might be bad news for people. Linda Iroff International Ferret Congress http://www.ferretcongress.org [Posted in FML issue 5196]