Bill and Diane Killian asked for clarification about the "flu." In common parlance, "flu" is frequently used as a catch-word for any of a variety of viral infections involving the nasal passages, respiratory tract or gastrointestinal tract. The correct usage refers to influenza, which has three major types: A, B and C. However, samples are seldom submitted to labs for virus identification and typing. This usually only occurs in settings where public health officials want to track the spread of epidemics (nursing homes, hospitals, etc.). Other viruses can also cause flu-like symptoms, including respiratory synctial virus, parainfluenza and the cold viruses (the latter comprising a grab-bag of different viruses). The clinical definition is so seldom nailed down that the International Classifications of Diseases code most commonly used in cases of the "flu" is "influenza-like illness." Yes, that's very nonspecific, but since most people (and ferrets) get over the flu, it's usually not worth spending big bucks for lab tests to identify the specific virus or virus type and subtype. Most clinicians distinguish any flu-like infection from a "cold" (also an imprecise word) by the presence of fever. The common cold is not supposed to produce fever. Of the three types of influenza virus, type A is the most dangerous and the one most often associated with influenza deaths--often from bacterial pneumonia that sets in once the influenza infection gets going. Type B is less severe, and type C causes the mildest infection. For what it's worth, during the current winter, type A, subtype H3N2 has been reported most frequently in the United States and Canada, with some type B virus. Ferrets can be infected with type A influenza. (Influenza type A was first identified in ferrets in 1931.) I have not seen a reference verifying whether ferrets can be infected with the other types of influenza or the other influenza-like illnesses. There are numerous anecdotal reports of ferrets catching cold viruses as well, but I've never seen laboratory confirmation of infection with a specific cold virus. I'd bet a semester's tuition that it happens...just haven't seen it verified in a peer-reviewed paper. "Stomach flu" can be anything. It may even be non-viral, such as bacteria, fungi, parasites, food allergies, toxins, and other causes. The term is used so loosely that it is very uninformative. It is far more useful to your doctor or vet to never use the term "stomach flu" but to describe all symptoms, for example: vomiting followed several hours by profuse, watery pale, foul-smelling diarrhea, with weakness, lethargy, chills and a fever. That sort of description will tell your vet *volumes* more than saying, "My ferret has stomach flu." I've noticed that some people in our local area use the term ECE the same way "stomach flu." is used. Sometimes what people casually refer to as a bout of "ECE" doesn't match the description of classical ECE described in the FAQ. In general, if a ferret has either severe or chronic diarrhea it should be taken to a vet. I worry that some ferret owner may mistake a treatable case of diarrhea for ECE and decide to keep the ferret at home giving only Pedialyte and duck soup. It also spreads fear of non-existent outbreaks. Not all diarrhea in ferrets is ECE. That distinction should be reserved for the set of symptoms described in the FAQ. A vet can easily check for bacterial and parasitic intestinal infections and that should always be done even when symptoms seem to match those of ECE since a co-existing infections with ECE are widely reported. By the way, TLE has sent samples from an outbreak of ECE to a molecular biologist here at UNC, so perhaps we'll know soon if ECE is really a coronavirus. Alli Goforth asked about the ferrets being used by Glaxo Wellcome for flu research and what happens to them. I know from someone who works at GW that at the end of studies healthy animals can be adopted free to employees. I don't know if the offer is made to the public or not...perhaps not if employees adopt most of the animals. I think GW has a public web site. A quick search on any good search engine should find it. --Jeff Johnston ([log in to unmask]) [Posted in FML issue 1835]