From:
ferrethealer@aol.com
Date: 2001-10-26 09:27:00 UTC
Subject: Re: Elevated Red Count
In a message dated 10/25/01 11:17:16 PM Eastern Daylight Time,
Ferret-Health-list@yahoogroups.com writes:
- excessively high red blood cell count
- 72% of red blood cells vs serum (normal values in the 50%
range?)
in a centrifuge test to separate sells from serum
- 15,000 cells per microliter in the count of number of red blood
cells per field on the slide (normal 6k-11k/microliter?)
My vet has never seen this in ferrets before and speculated that
it could
be caused by cancer; she didn't think her spleen was enlarged
enough to
account for the test results. This ferret eats a combination of
quality
dry kibble with some freeze-dried meat product and raw chicken
diet thrown
in in small amounts. She has regular hairball problems, vomits
them up
once every few months, and vomits partially digested food every so
often.
Otherwise, she is active, playful, and alert.
Gotta say that I'd not start treatment at this time, with no
conclusive evidence for what's going on. I have seen elevated red
cell counts before, and at 72% in an otherwise pretty normal ferret,
I would schedule for a repeat CBC and monitor the condition. I have
seen these counts go back to normal more often than not. I am
currently treating a ferret for polycythemia vera (which is a cancer
of the bone marrow that produces excessive red cells) and his
presenting red cell count was over 90%.
However, if the elevated red count should persist, then some testing
should be considered. A splenic aspirate is a possibility, and so
is a bone marrow aspirate. I have seen ferrets with adrenal disease
have elevated red counts, so that should be looked into.
Good luck, and hopefully this is a transient thing, and not a cause
for alarm.
Dr. Ruth
*****************************************
Save lives - spay or neuter your pet.