Okay, in the study in Norther Spain http://aem.asm.org/content/78/3/885/T1.expansion of the mustelids none of the three american mink had it, none of the 26 beech martins had it, 9 of the 75 badgers did, none of the 14 pine martins did, none of the 5 polecats did, none of the 5 weasels did. So, only badgers at 9 of 75, which is 1.2%, so only slightly over 1%. Of other members of Carnivora tested 1 of three wolves had it (33.3%), 1 of 6 wildcats had it (16.6% so closer to 17%), none of the 13 genets had it, and 1 of 62 red foxes had it (1.6% so closer to 2%). In the Korean Study <http://www.researchgate.net/publication/7474645_Detection_of_Bartonella_species_from_ticks_mites_and_small_mammals_in_Korea> of the mustelids "Neither of the two weasels were positive for Bartonella spp" That study looked at mustelids, rodents, and insectivores. In http://www.ajtmh.org/content/66/5/622.full.pdf there was one weasel in the study but that weasel did not have Bartonella. In the most recent study on this topic, done in Japan: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22841404 one Japanese badger had it (6.7% so closer to 7%) and one Japanese Martin (12.5%). The also tested raccoon dogs (native to Japan), raccoons (which I think were introduced there by the fur trade), and two species of weasels (which are in genus Mustela) with none of those having Bartonella. So, resistance in genus Mustela is a possibility, so is rapid death with Bartonella, poor sampling, or even some general health aspects. So far I STILL can NOT find any expert articles or posts with confirmed Bartonella in ferrets or european or steepe polecats. Note that badgers are mustelids but are in genus Meles. Martins are in genus Martes in the mustelids. Otters also are mustelids, in genus Lontra. Each of these three has been found with Bartonella. Martins do eat a number of rodents, but most typically squirrels. I do not know the eating patterns of badgers. In North Carolinian river otters: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20688703 "Between 2006 and 2007, DNA from a novel Bartonella sp. was detected in 19 of 65 animals (29%). Blood from one live otter captured in 2008 was found positive for this Bartonella sp. by both PCR and culture. The pathogenicity of this Bartonella species in river otters or other mammals is unknown." In http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22493124 it was noted that because badgers tend to often live in close proximity to livestock in Texas they often have rodenticide poisoning which can weaken them; all three species of Bartonella found there were also present in them. Okay, this study involved stoats but they did NOT find Bartonella in them. They found lesions which MIGHT have been from anticoagulants such as rodenticides: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11765324 QUOTE Vet Rec. 2001 Dec 1;149(22):671-5. Histological evidence of disease in wild stoats (Mustela erminea) in England. McDonald RA, Day MJ, Birtles RJ. Source School of Biological Sciences, University of Bristol. Abstract Forty-four free-living stoats were collected from five game estates in England and examined for evidence of disease. All the macroscopic lesions were attributable to the trauma associated with being trapped or shot. There were no significant microscopic lesions in 27 (61 per cent) of the stoats. There was evidence of nematode parasitism in the intestines of six stoats (14 per cent), and in the lungs of five stoats (11 per cent), and of pulmonary granulomatous inflammation or microgranulomas in five stoats. In two of the stoats, blood-filled cavities in the liver were suggestive of peliosis hepatis, possibly associated with infection by Bartonella species or with sublethal exposure to anticoagulant rodenticides. PMID: 11765324 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE] END QUOTE So, despite my having forgotten that stoats are in genus Mustela none of them definitely had Bartonella in ANY of the studies. That means that so far I can NOT find any study in which any member of genus Mustela actually had Bartonella. There may simply been insufficient numbers sampled. There may be resistance. There may be less exposure to rodents with insecticides in them and those might undermine resistance. There may be rapid death resulting in fewer in the samples. It would make sense that animals with an ancestry of much rodent eating would have better resistance. In parts of France the polecats eat more frogs with a lower percentage of rodent eating and in some other locations the amount of the diet that is comprised by eggs, insects, worms, reptiles, birds or fish also vary, so it might be intriguing to look at them, though that might be a relatively recent diet change for some (or not) rather than one with a long ancestry, depending on location. For contrast there are studies in Canids (with the mustelids descended from that branch of Carnivora) and in felines (except for certain canids like coyotes and a few of the other small wild dogs, jackels, and foxes with a more similar diet to genus Mustela) Over 500 results come up for felines: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed?term=Bartonella%20feline Over 200 results come up for canines: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed?term=Bartonella%20feline Looking now at coyotes which also are from the canine branch but like genus Mustela consume a lot of rodents so two overlaps: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed?term=Bartonella%20coyote This is the most recent but is small: QUOTE Emerg Infect Dis. 2009 Dec;15(12):1984-7. Bartonella rochalimae in raccoons, coyotes, and red foxes. Henn JB, Chomel BB, Boulouis HJ, Kasten RW, Murray WJ, Bar-Gal GK, King R, Courreau JF, Baneth G. Source Napa County Health and Human Services, Napa, California, USA. Abstract To determine additional reservoirs for Bartonella rochalimae, we examined samples from several wildlife species. We isolated B. rochalimae from 1 red fox near Paris, France, and from 11 raccoons and 2 coyotes from California, USA. Co-infection with B. vinsonii subsp. berkhoffii was documented in 1 of the coyotes. PMID: 19961681 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE] PMCID: PMC3044513 Free PMC Article END QUOTE There are many more but this seems to be the most recent large study w coyotes and Bartonella: QUOTE Vector Borne Zoonotic Dis. 2005 Summer;5(2):110-9. Environmental factors associated with Bartonella vinsonii subsp. berkhoffii seropositivity in free-ranging coyotes from northern California. Beldomenico PM, Chomel BB, Foley JE, Sacks BN, Baldi CJ, Kasten RW, Gardner IA. Source Facultad de Ciencias Veterinarias, Universidad Nacional del Litoral, Esperanza, Santa Fe, Argentina. Abstract Bartonella vinsonii subsp. berkhoffii is a newly recognized pathogen of domestic dogs and humans. Coyotes (Canis latrans) are considered an important reservoir of this bacterium in the western United States, but its vectors are still unknown. Our objective was to identify environmental factors associated with Bartonella antibody prevalence in 239 coyotes from northern California, using an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. In addition, associations were evaluated between B. v. berkhoffii and two pathogens with known vectors and habitat requirements, Dirofilaria immitis and Anaplasma phagocytophilum. Overall, B. v. berkhoffii seroprevalence was 28% (95% confidence interval [CI], 22.3%, 33.7%) and Bartonellaseropositive coyotes were more likely than seronegative coyotes to be positive for Anaplasma phagocytophilum (Odds ratio = 3.3; 95% CI = 1.8, 5.9) and Dirofilaria immitis (Odds ratio = 2.1; 95% CI = 1.2, 3.8). The most likely geographic clusters of Bartonella and Dirofilaria overlapped.Bartonella seropositivity was associated with higher precipitation (p = 0.003) and proximity to the coast (p = 0.007) in univariate analysis. The association with precipitation varied with season, based on a logistic regression model. PMID: 16011426 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE] END QUOTE Sukie (not a vet) Ferrets make the world a game. Recommended ferret health links: http://pets.groups.yahoo.com/group/ferrethealth/ http://ferrethealth.org/archive/ http://www.miamiferret.org/ http://www.ferrethealth.msu.edu/ http://www.ferretcongress.org/ http://www.trifl.org/index.shtml http://homepage.mac.com/sukie/sukiesferretlinks.html all ferret topics: http://listserv.ferretmailinglist.org/archives/ferret-search.html "All hail the procrastinators for they shall rule the world tomorrow." (2010, Steve Crandall) On change for its own sake: "You can go really fast if you just jump off the cliff." (2010, Steve Crandall) [Posted in FML 7509]