From:
sukiec@optonline.net
Date: 2005-08-25 03:21:29 UTC
Subject: RE: eCOLI
To: ferrethealth@smartgroups.com
Message-ID: <3922742.1124940089161.JavaMail.root@thallium.smartgroups.com>
E. coli is the abbreviation for Escherichia coli which is considered by the=
CDC to be an emerging food borne illness.
It gets into or onto food from fecal waste. The methods which are used for=
automated meat processing have increased the amount of contamination from =
intestines onto meat. Ground meat is the most potentially hazardous for th=
ese bacteria. For solid cuts the outside of the meat/organ (except for int=
estines) is the part of consider in relation to this microbe. You will als=
o hear of it found on vegetables or fruits when farm workers use the fields=
as toilets or use a slurry of fecal waste and water for fertilizing too cl=
ose to harvesting.
With the use of antibiotics in farm situations there is an increase in anti=
biotic resistant bacteria in or on foods.
BTW, I noticed on skimming the other day that it appears that at least one =
state's website considers TB in pets from food exposures to now have become=
an emerging veterinary disease that is often not considered when intestina=
l damage is found. =
<http://www.michigan.gov/emergingdiseases/0,1607,7-186-25804_25812---,00.ht=
ml>
(Check me on that because I was skimming at 3 a.m. at the end of an 18 hour=
workday. Recently a lot of days have been like that for me so check thing=
s I write even more than you usually do for comments from us non-vets.)
and I read the case of a dog in that situation in another state and his fam=
ily's and vet's comments:
http://www.bogartsdaddy.com/bouvier/Health/raw_meat_tristans_story.htm
I was also surprised to find this content:
START QUOTE
Scientists suspect that foodborne pathogens are linked to chronic disorders=
and can even cause permanent tissue or organ destruction. Research suggest=
s that when some people are infected by foodborne pathogens, the activation=
of their immune system can trigger an inappropriate autoimmune response, w=
hich means the immune system attacks the body's own cells. In some people, =
an autoimmune response leads to a chronic health condition.
Chronic disorders that may be triggered by foodborne pathogens are
arthritis
inflammatory bowel disease
kidney failure
Guillain-Barr=E9 syndrome
autoimmune disorders
Further research is needed to explain the link.
END QUOTE
in the National Institute of Health's
http://digestive.niddk.nih.gov/ddiseases/pubs/bacteria/
NOTE THAT IT SOUNDS LIKE MUCH OF THAT IS STILL HYPOTHETICAL, so know that i=
t may be possible but remember that grain of salt as with anything hypothet=
ical. I knew that ingestion of too much of some cyanobacter (blue green "al=
gae" types) had been connected to later intestinal and liver woes in multip=
le species, but these postulations for food borne pathogens were new to me.=
Finally, I found what may be a useful site run by veterinary nutritionists =
for when people try to design their own ferret diets:
http://www.petdiets.com
There were a few other things I found, like when an acid bath is used for r=
educing E. coli the wash time is at least 10 minutes for fruits and veggies=
. I know of no reason to assume it is less for meat to get a reasonable re=
duction in rate. If time allows I'll learn more but right now my schedule =
is hosed.
Diet seems to be in some ways "a half dozen of one and 6 of the other"; non=
e is perfect and each has downsides. Just recognize the downsides of which=
ever one you use so that you can respond to whatever medical problem it may=
make more likely, and always let your vet know everything your ferret eats=
.=
Nor is diet "one size fits all", so always remember that and know that you =
may need to adjust diet for some medical conditions.
Author wrote:
> As far as I know eColi is from a germ that is carried from one animal to =
next
> and people or animals don't have to eat meat to get it> My friend lived =
on a
> fram got eColi and almost died from it. Carol L.
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