From:
sukiec@optonline.net
Date: 2004-06-20 21:34:43 UTC
Subject: Re: [ferrethealth] prolonged ECE?
To: ferrethealth@smartgroups.com
Message-ID: <1530504.1087767283842.JavaMail.root@thallium.smartgroups.com>
> http://www.afip.org/ferrets/ECE/ECE.html
You'll appreciate this segment from Dr. Bruce Williams' AFIP ECE website wr=
ite-up which seems to answer your needs and lists what are just rumors:
>There are a lot of unproven claims about ECE circulating on the Internet.=A0=
This >tends to cloud the diagnostic and treatment picture, and ultimately =
are damaging >to ferrets and their owners.=A0 Some of the unfounded rumors =
that I have heard >include:
>1. ECE is a form of influenza (it is not - ECE has no respiratory or syst=
emic >effects).=A0 Influenza is a type of paramyxovirus, not a coronavirus.=
=
>2. ECE is airborne (no, but as it extremely contagious and can easily be >=
transmitted by owners between cages via dirty hands, clothing, or shoes.). =
=
>3. ECE is a primary liver disease (no, the liver is only affected due to m=
obilization >of fat due to not eating) =
>4. Infected animals shed the ECE virus forever. (We don't know precisely h=
ow long >the virus is shed - best estimates are approximately 6-8 months fo=
r healthy >animals. That does not mean that they have cleared all the virus=
, only that they are >not spreading the disease.) =
>5. Ferrets commonly break with the disease again after exposure to a clini=
cally ill >animal. (This is also not likely; a far more likely explanation =
is that following >infection, a damaged intestine such as those shown in th=
e pictures above is more >susceptible to recurrent bouts of malabsorptive d=
iarrhea following stress or a >dietary change. It is likely that immunity, =
if not lifelong, is certainly long-lasting. >The presence of young animals =
with no clinical symptoms in a facility undergoing >an outbreak of ECE is l=
ikely proof of this.) =
>6. There is a new variant of ECE causing oral ulcers (self-inflicted oral =
ulcers are >common in ECE, due to nausea..=A0 Cases of the "new disease" th=
at I have seen are >due to lethal infections of coccidia.)
> This is just a sampling of the misinformation available on the Net.=A0 Th=
ere are also >a rash of unproven treatments available including a wide vari=
ety of antibiotics >including Flagyl and cephalexin, as well as homeopathic=
treatments and "special >ECE diets".=A0 Be careful as to what you read, an=
d make sure your information comes >from a well-regarded source.
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