From:
"Sukie Crandall"
Date: 2009-05-14 21:54:08 UTC
Subject: [ferrethealth] Re: Ferret FIP question
To: ferrethealth@yahoogroups.com
Is it definite that this kit does not have any of the
much more common illnesses which can cause
those symptoms?
Young kits get rotavirus, ECE is pretty common,
pet store kits have sometimes picked up giardia
from aquaria, and coccidia is very common in
pet store kits, with vets not always checking for
5 days straight during diarrhea for BOTH genera
of coccidia that ferrets get.
In addition, kits are prone to eating what they
should not and blockages often occur, some of
them not complete blockages.
Please, tell us what tests have been done so far,
and how often for the stool specimens, and what
the test results were like.
See in this for symptoms of the FIP-like corona virus
(mutated from ECE according to genetic study) and
also in here what tests can done and how they are
likely to look:
http://www.vetpathology.org/cgi/content/full/45/2/236
BEGIN QUOTE with spacing inserted to emphasize overt symptoms
>From 2002 to 2007, 23 ferrets from Europe and the United States
were diagnosed with systemic pyogranulomatous inflammation
resembling feline infectious peritonitis (FIP). The average age at the
time of diagnosis was 11 months. The disease was progressive in all
cases, and average duration of clinical illness was 67 days.
Common clinical findings were anorexia, weight loss, diarrhea, and large,
palpable intra-abdominal masses; less frequent findings included hind limb
paresis, central nervous system signs, vomiting, and dyspnea.
Frequent hematologic findings were mild anemia,thrombocytopenia, and
hypergammaglobulinemia. Grossly, whitish nodules were found in numerous
tissues, most frequently the mesenteric adipose tissue and lymph nodes, visceral
peritoneum, liver, kidneys, spleen, and lungs. One ferret had a serous abdominal
effusion. Microscopically, pyogranulomatous inflammation involved especially
the visceral peritoneum, mesenteric adipose tissue, liver, lungs, kidneys, lymph
nodes, spleen, pancreas, adrenal glands, and/or blood vessels. Immunohistochemically,
all cases were positive for coronavirus antigen using monoclonal antibody FIPV3-70.
Electron microscopic examination of inflammatory lesions identified particles with
coronavirus morphology in the cytoplasm of macrophages. Partial sequencing of the
coronavirus spike gene obtained from frozen tissue indicates that the virus is related
to ferret enteric coronavirus.
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
--- In ferrethealth@yahoogroups.com, "Asmodeus Azarak" <asmodeusazarak@...> wrote:
>
> Hello all,
>
> I have a question related to ferret FIP. I've owned ferrets in the past, and I know both how wonderful and unfortunately prone to serious health problems they can be.
>
> Recently I purchased two kits, one of which is showing signs strongly pointing to ferret FIP (which I was not aware of prior to this). Swollen belly, diarhea, lethargy, extremely small for his age, etc. We've stabalized him pretty well and he's hanging in there.
>
> His sister looks to be perfectly healthy, and has tons of energy. My poor sick boy can only keep up with her on good days. My vet has been adamant that I cannot bring another ferret into the household. Right now I just want to focus my energy on taking care of the boy anyway, but if something should happen and he should pass, I would feel terrible if the girl stayed healthy and could not have a companion.
>
> Is there any sense out there for how communicable this condition (rather than perhaps the virus that causes it) really is, and the odds of her being a carrier and length of time.
>
> So far the place we purchased them from has had no other reports of illness in the ferrets that were with ours when we got them.
>
> Any help is much appreciated, thank you.
>
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