From:
Shirley Hewett
Date: 2001-04-22 11:31:00 UTC
Subject: Adrenal disease in Australia.
Dr Williams, Dr John Jardine sends warm greetings to you.
In his capacity as head pathologst at Vetpath he has been very
helpful in my search for the presence of Adrenal Disease in Oz
and because he has peformed ferret necrospies in USA as well
as here in Perth and Sydney, his observations were invaluable.
Very briefly, my inquiries into adrenal disease in Australia
has shown the following:
Adrenal disease has been present in ferrets in New South Wales
and South Australia for "many" years (given that they have
only become popular as pets, as opposed to disposable working
animals in Australia over the last 12-15 years, this could
mean it has always been present). It does appear that the
disease is being diagnosed and treated because of growing
knowledge rather than an increase in numbers but it is still
considered to be a rare disease. While South Australian
ferret owners report an increase in the number of cases there,
only the next few years will tell if this is so.
I am still waiting for some vets and clubs from interstate to
get back to me so I don't have any numbers to quote at this
stage so this post can only be considered as anecdotal but I
think that from now on I will mainly concentrate how, or if,
the story progresses here in Western Australia. If the
disease does increase here, it could be a rare opportunity to
study its spread.
We have our first two diagnosed cases of adrenal disease here
in WA and now begins the search for a vet who feels confident
and knowledgeable enough to perform the surgery and who can
cope with a very steep learning curve.
Love & Dooks
Shirley