Thanks <MiskaBC> for the post of the abstract of the ferret shedding study of the bat rabies. I think that this was the data that many of us were waiting for. Now the Boogie Man Story of the rabid bat, who flies unobserved into our houses, bites our sleeping ferrets and sneaks out again, should have been put to rest. There is no asymptomatic shedding of the bat rabies virus. Of the two virus types tested, the Brown Bat and the Brazilian Free Tailed Bat, the virus was found in the saliva of only one ferret; that one infected with the Brown Bat virus; AND that ferret was exhibiting symptoms of rabies when the virus appeared in the saliva. So, to date, we have results using the following rabies virus variants: Skunk - no shedding Raccoon - shedding 2-3 days prior to outset of symptoms Brown Bat - shedding coincident with symptoms Brazilian Free Tail Bat - no shedding Fox (European) - no shedding Vole (European) - no shedding Do you see a trend here? Since Public Health is concerned with the potential for human exposure from a ferret bite, the normal 10 day quarantine now granted to dogs and cats WILL provide adequate protection in the event of a bite by a ferret. As long as the ferret is observed and shows no symptoms within the 10 days, Public Health can be assured that the ferret was not capable of passing on rabies at the time of the bite. Let's now hope that the NASPHV Compendium Committee which meets in November finally accepts the data and recommends a quarantine for ferrets. It's time to stop the unnecessary and unjustified killing of ferrets for rabies testing. Dick B. [Posted in FML issue 2103]