It looks like he typed this one with their new baby in his arms, too. :-) Can't blame him <G>; we'd be the exact same way. >From: "Bruce Williams" > >dear sukie - > >This is the second email on this fml post that i have received. > >In short, therestill is no reliable clinical test for ECE. > >while in acute cases, coronaviruses may be isolated from stools of affected >ferrtes, this test is dependent on a number of factors, including stage of >disease (only very recently infected ferrets may have levels of virus high >enough to be seen under the electron microscope,). While coronaviruses have >been isolated numerous times in affected ferrets (including in my research >in 1993 and in research conducted at Purdue University), this virus has >proved elusive in terms of growing it in cell culture, which is thefirst >step in developing a sensitive and repeatable test for ECE as well as a >vaccine > >I need to reiterate however that although coronaviruses are the mot likely >cause of ECE, and certainly strengthen a clinical diagnosis of this disease, >a negative fecal exam for virus certainly does not rule it out, especially >in animals with definitive clinical signs. Characteristic clinical signs >must still be regarded as the definitive "test" for ECE. > >best, > >bruce (and asleeping connor) [Posted in FML issue 2653]