From:
"Danee DeVore"
Date: 2004-04-02 03:09:30 UTC
Subject: Re: [ferrethealth] Digest 2 Apr 2004 02:18:05 -0000 Issue 634
To: "Ferret Health List" <ferrethealth@smartgroups.com>
cc: "Lisa Oestereich" <lisa@leedg.com>
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