From:
"Sukie Crandall"
Date: 2008-01-12 05:15:32 UTC
Subject: [ferrethealth] Re: Young ferret dying of bronchitis? Help!
To: ferrethealth@yahoogroups.com
Did the vet look on the chest x-rays to see if the thymus is enlarged? That is very
common with Juvenile Lymphoma and can help with diagnosis.
I don't know why the infection is so resistant to treatment but there are several
possibilities, including underlying other illness (such as JL), antibiotic resistant bacteria, or
even possibly a fungal respiratory infection.
Possibly, the x-ray is opaque enough it may even be a best-guess scenario about what is
going on. Several things can do that according to a past experience with one of ours:
lung infection, heart disease with fluid accumulation, JL, etc.
A major systemic infection, having a major organ like the lungs compromised, or dealing
with a major malignancy like JL will cause many very obvious symptoms as you have
noticed: lethargy, hind end weakness, weight change, dehydration, difficulty swallowing
or keeping food or fluids in (which in turn can drop the blood sugar levels if pronounced
enough and certainly can increase some liver values -- in fact difficulty swallowing can
contribute to the risk of aspiration pneumonia in some species.
I am wondering if it would be possible get and culture what is growing in the bronchioles.
Also, if the chest presentation of JL was looked for. The thymus is in the right spot that
the vet might think "bronchitis" first if the x-ray isn't clear enough to be completely sure.
If that is the case i am wondering if an ultrasound would clarify matters.
Sukie (not a vet)
Recommended ferret health links:
http://pets.groups.yahoo.com/group/ferrethealth/
http://ferrethealth.org/archive/
http://www.afip.org/ferrets/index.html
http://www.miamiferret.org/fhc/
http://www.ferretcongress.org/
http://www.trifl.org/index.shtml
http://homepage.mac.com/sukie/sukiesferretlinks.html
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