From:
Sukie Crandall
Date: 2001-07-17 15:23:00 UTC
Subject: IMPORTANT: possible epizooic, read the parts in quotes
>Delivered-To: telocity.com%sukiecrandall@t...
>X-Received: 17 Jul 2001 19:14:55 GMT
>From: "Sue M." <tlichie@u...>
>To: Sukie Crandall <sukiecrandall@t...>
>Date: Tue, 17 Jul 2001 14:11:37 -0500
>Subject: Re: possible epizooic
>Reply-to: tlichie@u...
>Priority: normal
>Status: U
>
>Hi Sukie,
>
>I'm not on the FHL, but I think that someone else will be posting a
>copy of it later, but feel free to do so yourself. And yes, the post
>can be distributed far and wide as a heads up. Both humans and
>fuzzies had the same thing back in Feb. so this is the second bout
>of it.
>
>So, do feel free to spread the word, in the event that it is elsewhere
>and folks aren't recogizing or just haven't said anything or in the
>event that it goes elsewhere!
>
>Thanks!
Sue, if you haven't yet posted this to the Ferret Health List could
you, please do so? Is it possible for other lists to carry your FML
letter from yesterday as a permitted forward of your post?
Maybe two years ago there was an epizooic in part of the Northeast
and Middle Atlantic that was traced back as beginning in one location
and fanning out from there with transferred ferrets. The problem was
a mutant strain of coccidea. That one was not highly contagious but
it was highly fatal in any which got it, almost all of which died.
You never hear about that now because the right things were done.
There was a rapid notification as you have done now, and a rapid
sharing of information, plus moving ferrets in and out of infected
areas ceased. That apparently allowed the mutated strain of coccidea
to die off.
The situation you describe will be harder because of possible human
hosts traveling, so any treatment info needs to be widely shared with
veterinarians through ferret people.
At 5:29 AM -0400 7/17/01, Automatic digest processor wrote:
>Date: Tue, 17 Jul 2001 02:34:07 -0500
>From: "Sue M." <tlichie@u...>
>Subject: Serious health problem in MN
>
>I am posting this on behalf of Laura of the Frolic club and In the Company
>of Ferrets shelter in MN. She's has this run through the shelter and club
>folks and has been contacted by at *least* a couple dozen folks not
>connected to either in any way, with the same problem.
>
>If you live in MN or a surrounding state there is a "bug" that is going
>through the human population that is also hitting the ferrets and hitting
>them HARD. There *have been deaths*. Primary symptoms in humans come on
>as food poisoning: bloat, gas, cramping, vomiting, and diahrrea. Also
>fever, chills, joint aches, and severe weakness. The reason I note the
>human connection is because many of the ferrets we've been contacted about
>have become ill after a human in their house has been hit, and also in many
>cases the people who've called don't even know anyone with another ferret.
>So the human factor seems to be *only* connection between cases.
>
>All of the people who have contacted us that went to non-shelter vets
>reported that the vet they went to including several claiming to be
>"ferret-knowledgeable" did not have the remotest clue about what was going
>on. Symptoms in ferrets run the gammut from sneeze, cough, sniffle, to
>complete loss of back legs, prolapsed rectum, blueberry preserve (as
>opposed to black, tarry, sticky) poop and spiking blood gluecose in some
>cases, into the 300-500 range, crashing back to normal within 24 to 48
>hours. Fever, apparant chills, apparant dizziness, nausea, vomiting,
>diahreah, dehydration, gas, total lethargy, etc. are also symptoms.
>It's hitting all age groups, two under the age of one that have lost
>their back legs, one died. *This is not ECE, juvenile lympho, ADV, or
>parasites, the last two of which we've tested for as this has happened.*
>
>Upon medical exam, blood profiles come out normal, with the exception of
>the elevated blood glucose *if* that's caught while it's spiked. The only
>thing that have shown up on additional tests are elevated white counts,
>also enlarged spleens, and there have been a few cases where it's gone
>into the respritory system and turned into pneumonia.
>
>Please be aware that the hardest hit are those with pre-existing
>conditions, especially insulinoma and lympho kids. We strongly advise if
>you have a ferret three or older that has not had a blood glucose test
>recently to bring them to your vet NOW and get that checked, as these are
>the ones that are being hit the hardest. The only vets in the MN area
>that appear to be aware of this situation are the In the Company of Ferrets
>shelter vets. (The MN Vet Association apparantly does not have a master
>list of vets for information such as this to be sent out to alert others.)
>
>If you live in MN, North/South Dakota, Iowa or Wisconsin, or the
>corresponding parts of Canada, please make a copy of this and bring it to
>your vet so they have an idea of what's going on if a furkid comes in with
>these symptoms/history. For more information, including the protocol we've
>been following here at the shelter (we're not giving medical advice, just
>telling people what *our* vets have advised us and what has been working)
>please call Laura at 651-439-5209. Please be aware that we are very busy
>and please leave a message with contact information if you don't reach her
>directly. If your vet wants more information please have them call our
>primary vet, Dr. Mary Arnesen at 651-275-0831.
>
>If you have had a case of this, mild or severe in your household, please
>contact us and let us know. We're trying to gage how widespread this is.
>You can write us at frolicclub@y...
>
>Also please rememer that if a ferret dies for any unknown or questionable
>reason to have a necropsy done. Our choice of path. labs is Marshfield in
>Wisc. (Unfortunately nothing has shown up on necropsies yet, except for
>any preexisting conditions.)