From:
KiSta Ferret Shelter
Date: 2001-03-03 16:36:00 UTC
Subject: Re: [Ferret-Health-list] ADV Testing
Hi Katherine,
I am not sure of the answers to many of your questions, but I
can tell you what our shelter is doing.
We tested in December...all of the Christmas rescue ferrets,
as well as a sampling of my pets and existing shelter ferrets.
We plan on testing again next month, and again in August. We
will test a sampling of both my pet ferrets, and the shelter
ferrets (different ferrets than the last test, except for the
few ferrets that I own that I take to shows. They will
continue to be tested every 4 months).
Since I am in a higher risk enviroment than you are, I am
testing rigorously and often. I have ferrets coming and going
all the time, from unknown backgrounds.
The point of testing for me is obvious; for an individual it
would be your choice.
Bottom line is for me, I feel a responsibility to test. I
would hate to spread the disease by adopting out ADV positive
ferrets into a negative home. I'd hate to have healthy
ferrets enter my shelter only to become infected by positive
ferrets that were already here. I'd like to know before my
ferrets actually become ill from ADV if they were positive,
since forewarned is forearmed. I'd hate to take an ADV
positive ferret to a show, and cause hundreds of people to
worry and perhaps some ferrets to actually become ill . I
want the people who adopt ferrets from me to be confident that
their new ferret is healthy. Those are the reasons I test.
All of the ferrets that were tested on 12/00 were negative,
thank goodness.
kim