From:
sukiec@optonline.net
Date: 2004-10-24 17:51:24 UTC
Subject: RE: sneezing ferret
To: ferrethealth@smartgroups.com
Message-ID: <6416450.1098640284416.JavaMail.root@thallium.smartgroups.com>
Ferrets don't get colds which are caused by rhinoviruses.
Don't take my word for it check past posts from veterinary pathologist Dr. Bruce Williams. Believe me, if they got rhinoviruses the pharmaceutical industry would appreciate having them as an easy animal model to help develop cold meds.
They DO get some things which can look like colds.
Influenza season has begun (at least around the tristate region with 7 cases in an NYC nursing home) and ferrets do get Infuenza A. When a flu is mild enough it can look like a cold.
Ferrets can get respiratory allergies.
They also tend to nose around in things that can cause them to sneeze.
Ferrets also can get bacterial sinus infections. Notice that these are bacterial so, unlike with viruses, antibiotics will work. When you hear of someone who says his or her ferret got a "cold' and the vet cured it with antibiotics what the ferret really got is not a rhinovirus -- which won't respond to antibiotics -- but a bacterial sinus infection which will.
Now, it is actually important to know this distinction because of the risk of an upper respiratory moving down the tract and causing a more serious infection. It is not that unusual for a ferret with a lung infection to not show overt signs and only have it discovered by x-ray, so coughing or other worrisome signs indicate that a vet appointment makes the most sense.