From:
daneedv@aol.com
Date: 2002-04-30 04:06:00 UTC
Subject: Re: Aleutians Disease Virus
--- In Ferret-Health-list@y..., "rocky_rrr" wrote:
>
> I sincerely thought about this organization's posture and
wondered
> myself; 1) What notice, and venue, in the Veterinarian
field, if
> any, promotes awareness of ADV . 2) With regard to them
stating that
> ADV infections are being exaggerated, is there any study of
> demographic occurence on-going. 3) Are Vets required to
report
> occurrences of a diagnosed infection to any epidemic control
group?
>
I can not answer your question #1, but would like to comment
on question #2.
In the past there have been several attempts to determine how
many ferrets are currently known to be infected with ADV and
in what areas they are located. In each case, people were
assured that their anonymity would be protected. Yet, each
time, people failed to respond. Some people are afraid of
admitting to a survey that they have ferrets with ADV.
I have people contact me for advice, and they will tell me
that they have ADV+ ferrets, but ask that I not share that
information. I respect their right to privacy, but I also
know that in order for some people to take the threat of ADV
seriously, there needs to be some kind of statistical data
available.
I do not know what the answer to this is. I do not believe
that there is any requirements on vets to report the
occurrence of diseases that are not a threat to humans, but
even if they were, people can test their ferrets on their own.
Getting people to volunteer information that some may believe
will make them an outcast is not an easy task.
Danee
ADV - If your ferret hasn't been tested, you don't know!
For more information visit
http://www.geocities.com/russiansmom