From:
swamp
Date: 2001-11-29 20:13:00 UTC
Subject: Re: Safe Household if previous ferret had Aleutian Disease?
On Wed Nov 28, 2001 9:07 PM, Deborah wrote:
>I miss having a `ferret household' desperately. Miyake came
>from a Petco store in the Chicago area, so I have no way of
>knowing what his genetic history was. At present, we are
>considering getting two kits from a specialty pet store in Chicago
>(we don't know of any reliable breeders in our area). However, I
>am now worried that Miyake may have had Aleutian disease.
>(We did not have an autopsy performed.) From what I have read,
>this disease can infect other ferrets and I am wondering if our
>household is now contaminated.
No one else took this on, so I'll give it a shot. afaik, a formal study on
the epizoology of ADV in ferrets has yet to be undertaken. Mink studies
were fairly common 25 years ago, and they found virus in urine, feces,
blood, serum, and tissue samples of infected mink. Field evidence provided
by ranchers indicated that the virus remained stable on wood and wire
holding pens for an unknown length of time. For example, a Danish mink
farmer purchased cages that had housed AD-infected mink one week earlier.
Part of his stock were placed in these cages and the rest remained in their
original pens. Later testing showed 40% exposure rate among animals in the
"new" cages, and 15% among animals left in their original pens. All the
animals were housed under the same roof. In general, it was noted that if
the pens were disinfected or left in the weather unoccupied, exposure rates
among animals inhabiting them dropped significantly. If it's reasonable to
assume the strain(s) affecting ferrets behave similarly, it would also be
reasonable to assume there are ways you can minimize the chances of
infecting a newcomer. Cage, bedding, hammocks, blankets, toys, etc. should
be discarded; carpets shampooed and curtains dry cleaned; hard flooring
mopped with a disinfectant, etc. Sanitize whatever you can. Things known to
deactivate the virus are:
mild bleach (50% laundry bleach, 50% water)
sodium hydroxide (0.05N)
iodine (0.5%)
denatured alcohol (5% solution)
isopropyl alcohol (5% solution)
ultraviolet (sun) light
heat (80+ degrees celsius for 20 minutes or more)
Though Miyake's symptoms were somewhat consistent with AD, it isn't the
only diagnosis and would be a rare example of the disease in a solitary
animal. AD tends to strike large, concentrated populations of animals like
you'd find in shelters or breeding farms. AD *can* hit individual animals
of course, but I'd suspect something else first. During all the veterinary
care did Miyake have any blood tests? ADV+ ferrets tend to have elevated
gamma globulin levels. Perhaps you can go back over the records with your
vet. It may be clinical but the more you know the better.
Condolences on your little one,
Rob