From:
Sukie Crandall
Date: 2009-05-13 17:59:12 UTC
Subject: [ferrethealth] a Nat Geo website rabies article...
To: fhl <ferrethealth@yahoogroups.com>
...leads to a need for more research to know how casually or not
"casual" was used.
http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2009/05/090504-rabies-evolution.html
It's a danged fine reason to be sure to vaccinate there while more is
learned.
They say relatives but NOT the relationship. Is it lateral/horizontal
(like sib to sib) or can it be passed in birth process or in utero
(vertical transmission)? Kits bite each other in play (a form of
lateral transmission that does involve saliva). Mothers groom kits,
including their injuries and eyes. Kits of many species of Carnivora
lick the inside of their mothers' mouths to find out what they have
been eating. So, the transmission does NOT have to have been casual.
You don't NEED a bite to transmit rabies. You need infected fluids --
such as saliva -- to get into an eye or into an open wound anywhere so
a mouth sore from previously eating a bit of bone will do, as will a
nick from a sibling's bite. According to an old study that I have not
followed up on for later research, some species get it by eating
neurological tissue of infected animals. Ferrets and cats don't get
it that way, but dogs do and foxes are closely related to dogs. Such
a shared meal could possibly infect a family.
http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2009/05/090504-rabies-evolution.html
The CDC has not put it in their website news highlights:
http://www.cdc.gov/rabies/news/
Related:
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19395748
It may be this one which has been followed somewhat since 2001:
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16965714
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12494966
This has also been done with raccoons in the U.S. and foxes in Europe:
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19204355
http://www.jwildlifedis.org/cgi/reprint/39/3/746
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12038143
http://www.jwildlifedis.org/cgi/reprint/38/2/428
In the news (See dates on articles):
http://www.navajohopiobserver.com/main.asp?SectionID=1&subsectionID=1&articleID=11385
http://sahuaritasun.com/articles/2009/05/01/breaking_news/00rabies503.txt
http://campverdebugleonline.com/main.asp?SectionID=1&subsectionID=1&articleID=22906
http://williamsnews.com/main.asp?SectionID=1&subsectionID=1&articleID=8748
and
http://www.lifesourcebiomedical.com/new-rabies-virus-evolving-quickly/
So, there is a lot more that needs to be known before anyone panics,
and a lot more to known before the word "casual" can be used casually,
but people in that area want to be extra sure to vaccinate and this
one bears watching and more research to better understand the behavior
of the virus. It's good to know about, good to take precautions
about, but not a reason to panic at this stage of information.
Meanwhile, people should also monitor the CDC rabies site
periodically, which is always a good practice, anyway. Also,
certainly, vaccinate.
Bottom Line: Rabies types/strains have been transmitted between
species before, and I have NOT found a study reference which itself
refers to this as involving "casual" transmission. So far I can't
find where the beginning of the use of the term "casual" in relation
to this strain began. Obviously, there is an origin, but without
finding it and reading more it is impossible to assess just why the
term was used or even if it was a good vocabulary choice.
People are usually exposed to rabies due to UNvaccinated pets, and the
most common strains affecting humans in the U.S. are usually bat
strains.
So, I am trying the next logical thing and have a request in with the
relevant State Public Health Veterinarian in Arizona to try to find
out just what "casual" means in this context, and if it has been used
appropriately. Hopefully, she or one of her experts will have the
time to send a reply I can share with you. If that does not pan out
I'll ask at the CDC and hope that they have enough time to clarify and
say if that word was used at all appropriately, but they also don't
always have spare time, the same as all other busy professionals.
So, I don't know if the vocabulary use made sense or if this is like
when that elephant relative mandible wound up all over the news as a
confiscated "Triceratops" jaw simply because someone asked an
archeologist instead of a paleontologist, appalling anyone who knew
their bones...
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/
http://www.ferrethealth.msu.edu/
http://www.ferretcongress.org/
http://www.trifl.org/index.shtml
http://homepage.mac.com/sukie/sukiesferretlinks.html
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
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