From:
"chryssalys"
Date: 2008-12-28 19:38:16 UTC
Subject: [ferrethealth] Re: Succesful treatment of recent ECE outbreak with no losses
To: ferrethealth@yahoogroups.com
--- In ferrethealth@yahoogroups.com, "Barbara Clay" <ROCKY_rrr@...>
wrote:
>
> Dear Dr. Ruth,
> Your last line, "...That's not actually bad news - it means that she
> doesn't have whatever this virus is hanging around.", sure gives a
> twist to the "good news/bad news" phrasing. But you're absolutely
> right. As read, and I know personally, there was an incredible team
> effort in supportive care, and I applaud each and every one of those
> that contributed!
**It does, doesn't it? After I posted that, I thought about it for a
minute, and then just hoped that folks would read it the way I
intended it. Certainly it's not great that the ferrets got sick, and
whether it was food poisoning or anything else, there's a great deal
of pain for the humans involved. I know I'm kicking myself for not
starting Tamiflu earlier - could it have made any difference? I
don't know. But I still wish I'd done it earlier.
Something I didn't post in that message and meant to is that as far
as I know no confirmatory tests were done in that household - so I
suppose there's still the possibility that it was the virus despite
the current conclusion by the treating vet. Either way, both he and
the owner are to be commended for their excellent care in saving all
of the affected ferrets.**
>
> Re Sukie's comments, " [If E. coli then she may be especially lucky,
> depending on the strain. There are are shiga toxin producing strains
> which are easily fatal for ferrets. Congratulations are extended on
> having no losses. --Mod] ". There are some thoughts that are
nagging
> at me, and I hope that you or Sukie could comment. The culprit of
the
> Ecoli was human grade chicken, purchased and ground at the
butcher's.
> Should there be cause for concern from a community health
> standpoint?, or are the shiga toxins omnipresent in chicken? I've
> always heard and known not to eat pink chicken, and this has really
> fortified that!
>
> Barb Clay
> Dir of Shelter Affairs for Rocky's
> www.rockysferrets.com
>
**Well, I will tell you that my butcher won't grind chicken, we've
asked. Now I don't know if that is because we wanted whole carcasses
ground, but it does give one pause to think.
We have our own grinder, and we buy whole carcasses, grind them and
freeze them immediately. Then, when we cook them, we cook until the
center of the pot reaches at least 170 degrees Fahrenheit.
There is a difference between the bacteria itself, though, and the
toxins. Once the toxins are there, I'm not sure that cooking
denatures them (I'd have to look that up and my books are at the
office), so one of the most important things is to cook or freeze the
meat immediately after it's ground to prevent the expression of the
toxins as bacteria grow.
I've had food poisoning from bad hamburger once, actually - thought I
was going to die, wanted to die.**
Dr. Ruth
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