From:
fhbythesea@aol.com
Date: 2001-04-11 09:27:00 UTC
Subject: Re: ECE
Speaking from the standpoint of a shelter that had ECE active and is
now ECE free:
Yeah I had it. Twice. Its one of the most exhausting diseases to
fight, as it can take up to 10 weeks to get a ferret eating on their
own and another 3 weeks to get them almost normal weight again. I had
two choices at the time of second exposure: Close and eradicate; or
stay open, quarantine as best that I could and treat everyone the
moment they entered the shelter. The other shelter here was also
fighting ECE, so me closing and shuttling the calls to them wasn't an
option. Heck, the first time we had ECE, it wasn't even called ECE,
it was 'the green slimies'. We fumbled around for treatments and what
did/didn't work. Dr. Williams and all the vets that worked so hard to
put a name and face to this disease have my undying gratitude...
I fought it once we had no new ferrets coming in by disinfecting
EVERYTHING - cages, floors, carpet, walls, bedding, bowls you name
it, I soaked it/washed it in disinfectant. Thats how I believe I
finally was able to be ECE-free.
I can't believe that any diet would prevent a virus. If it did, it
would be a boon to those people with HIV/AIDS/Hepatitis C/D/E....
Lisa Leidig, Head Ferret
The Ferret Haven "By-the-Sea"
www.ferrethaven.org