Message Number: SG8444 | New FHL Archives SearchFrom: "Danee DeVore"
Date: Thu, 1 Apr 2004 22:09:30 -0500
To: "Ferret Health List" <ferrethealth@smartgroups.com>
cc: "Lisa Oestereich" <lisa@leedg.com>
Subject: Re: [ferrethealth] Digest 2 Apr 2004 02:18:05 -0000 Issue 634
Message-ID: <406CD96A.7010301@aol.com>
"Lisa Oestereich" <lisa@leedg.com> wrote on 4/1/2004, 9:18 PM:
> Question: I've just found out that one of my two ferrets has ADV.
> Shocking! Because ferrets are my pet of choice and I really can't see
> me not having ferrets ever again,... I'm wondering how long ADV can live
> in my home after these ferrets are gone?
Hi Lisa,
I am sorry to hear that your vet suspects one of your ferrets may have ADV.
I have been living with ADV for the past 5 years. I was a breeder, who
accidentally brought it into my house. At the time, I had 36 ferrets in
my house. Fortunately, only 10 became positive.
Since bringing it in, 4 of the 10 have died - 2 from ADV and 2 from
other causes. My youngest ADV+ are now 5, and still show no outward
symptoms. I am hopeful that they will be with me for a while, yet.
Although ADV can kill, some ferrets can live out a normal life with the
disease. Also, some ferrets appear to have a natural immunity to it.
Plus, many ferrets that have it do not shed the disease, while others go
in and out of shedding periods.
I have been very active in helping the U of GA with their research on
ADV, by providing them with samples from my ferrets. There is a test
that can be run on any bodily fluid that can tell you whether or not the
ferret is in a shedding state. However, that test is only valid for the
time when the sample was obtained, since the state can change. There
are no outward symptoms when a ferret is shedding, so there is no way of
knowing without the test.
I hope some of what I have written is helpful. If there are any other
specific questions you have, I will be happy to try and answer them.
Please feel free to email me privately, also, if you have questions, or
if I can assist you in any way. My email is DaneeDV@aol.com.
--
Danee
International Ferret Congress Health Issues Coordinator
http://ferretcongress.org
ADV - If your ferret hasn't been tested, you don't know!
For more information visit: http://www.ferretadv.com
Send comments to Pam at pjdutche@email.unc.edu. Please note that this address is only useful for questions about the FHL archive. Questions about ferret health, or those intended for the FHL, should be sent to the Ferret Health List.