From:
Pam Sessoms
Date: 2003-04-18 14:34:33 UTC
Subject: Re: [ferrethealth] RE: New to the Group
To: SprinklOStarDust@aol.com
cc: ferrethealth@smartgroups.com
Message-ID: <Pine.A41.4.44+UNC.0304181033180.62866-100000@login0.isis.unc.edu>
> If you feel as though this is what it could be, could you tell me more
> about this disease?
Well, I honestly don't know if this is what they have, but I always love
to point people to Dr. Williams' web page about ECE:
http://www.afip.org/ferrets/ECE/ECE.html
It will answer nearly all questions - fantastic resource.
I've never been through ECE with mine, but I don't think I've read of
ferrets typically having the repiratory signs that yours do. It's usually
associated with diarrhea, malabsorption of nutrients (weightloss, poop
with the appearance of birdseed), lethargy, dehydration, and sometimes
secondary infections. Ferrets can definitely get the flu from humans,
though, and many of your signs fit that pretty closely. I'm not so sure
about how the diarrhea you've seen fits in there, though. There isn't a
test in a vet's office that can be done for either ECE or flu,
unfortunately. Who knows, they might have something else entirely.
However, I do still think that your treatment is on track, especially if
you are seeing a trend of improvement. For both the flu and ECE, you're
primarily looking at good supportive care, with handfeeding and fluids.
Although both are viruses, antibiotics can be used with both to stave off
secondary bacterial infections. Dr. Williams' web page above mentions the
use of prednisone as an anti-inflammatory in cases where the gut is having
a hard time healing (pred is added later in the game).
That's probably not a lot of help, but maybe someone else has other ideas.
Keep up your excellent supportive care, and let us know how it goes!
Best wishes,
-Pam S.