From:
Ferrethealer@aol.com
Date: 2003-07-01 01:42:24 UTC
Subject: Emerging Syndrome?
To: ferrethealth@smartgroups.com
Message-ID: <137.21ec9c1d.2c324100@aol.com>
I am currently treating an eight month old neutered male ferret (Marshall's)
with many of the same symptoms that Sukie's Chiclet has, as well as the two
younger ferrets discussed earlier (the one that I saw and the other one
described here). He came in last Thursday, having spent the night at the emergency
clinic with a fever of 106 degrees. He'd been seen by another vet the previous
Sunday and diagnosed without any testing as "coming down with something" and
put on Baytril.
Xrays are unremarkable, bloodwork normal except for a mild elevation of the
WBC and a mild anemia. The ferret is a limp dishrag and I have yet to see a
temperature below 104. Today for the first time, I have an enlarged lymph node
- two, actually: the right axillary and prescapular. He is eating for the
owners from a syringe pretty well.
Currently he's on Baytril, Clavamox and Carafate, with subcu fluids three
times a day, and he actually gained some weight between Saturday and today.
My concern is that there are now four similar sounding cases - two 3 month
olds with rapidly progressing disease leading to death and two 8 month olds with
somewhat slower progression and hopefully recovery. This isn't something
I've seen before a couple months ago, and I am beginning to wonder if this is a
new development. With the first one, I definitely suspected a variant form of
JL, but had no diagnostics to back me up. I think with Chiclet we are still
waiting on the biopsy, yes?
So, any thoughts on this? Treatments, further tests, any ideas as to whether
this may indeed be an emerging problem or just a coincidence?
Dr. Ruth
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Find it. Fix it. And fly again.
End of ferrethealth Digest
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