From:
"fret.popper"
Date: 2009-06-06 02:29:32 UTC
Subject: [ferrethealth] Re: Sick ferrets in Australia
To: ferrethealth@yahoogroups.com
No, the survivors were thought to be constipated, thus the hairball remover. We are still waiting for the PM and test results of ferret Bella, the last one to die. I'll send them as soon as I receive them.
Have the ferrets vets on the FHL offered any opinions yet?
Although not every affected showed the same clinical signs could it be that the same pathogen or toxin affected them differently?
I'm sending the complete history of ferret Poco (pasted below). She is doing fine.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Patient Medical Records
12/05/2009
Patient: Poco, Female Brown and Tan Ferret, 2 1/2 years.
Note: REASON: severe malaise depression, diarrhoea-today
HISTORY: Last Well: acute unwell ness this morning, lethargic, inappetant, watery diarrhoea
NOT EATEN 3-4 DAYS Medical Hx - nothing untoward-
Current Vacc / HW? Worming, not vaccinated
Companions: 2 companions well (Raphael - 1.3kg Yeti - 1.5kg) - but previously lost 4 ferrets in different cages over last month - their signs predominantly respiratory and seizuring.
Environment; no diet change - new ferret introduced to colony 1 month prior to onset of signs
EXAM: HR>300 Pulse CRT 1 sec MM mildly injected mm RR normal pattern T 36.69 (Hypothermia)
Resp/Chest: nad
U/G: bladder not palpable - entire female
GIT: diarrhoea-watery brown - nad on abdo palp
Neuro: nad
Mu/Sk: nad
Derm: nad
Eyes: nad
Ears: nad
Other: BS=2/6, thin, mild dehydration, very depressed
Lab-BG=7.6 PCV=62%
Blood smear - left shift neutrophilia (subjective) with toxic change in bands
Alk Phos=86 (9-84)
ALT=522 (82-289)
Urea>46.4 (3.6-16)
Creatine result invalid
TP=72 (52-73)
Alb=25 (26-38)
Glob=47 (18-31)
Serum yellow
Fecal smear - mixed rod/cocci. Rectal smear - mixed-few inflammatory cells, no clostridial spores seen
Problems:
Assessment-hypothermia, injected mm, tachycardia suggests shock syndrome
-acute inflammatory process (on chronic possibly given poor Condition.)
-hepatopathy with suspected hyperbilirubinaemea
-acute renal disease ddx prerenal. Need to differentiate prerenal/renal azotemia with USG (mild dehydration only)
Given history of other ferrets, consider endotoxin, food spoilage/contamination, infectious aetiology
PLAN: send to After hours centre for IV fluids, urine usg/sediment, Abs, overnight monitoring and review bloods in 12-24 hrs, prognosis guarded.
REC. Histopath on liver, kidneys if succumbs
FOLLOW UP
13/05/2009 Medication:
Flagyl Suspension - Qty: 1.5 Expiry : 13/07/2009
13/05/2009 Medication:
Clavulox 50mg Tabs - QTY: 5 Expiry : 13/07/2009
13/05/2009
Note: PHONE: Told Owner that urea and creat were very high last nicht, down to mormal range today. She has been on IVF and antibiotics. Possibly some sort of toxin causing acute kidney damage. Seeing she has normal levels and is eating she can go home today on antibiotics and come back in 2 days to check urea creat levels again, or earlier if she goes downhill again.
16/05/2009
Note: HISTORY. See previous.
Been B and A, eating and drinking since got home
PLAN. Recheck urea/crea.
19/05/2009
Note: in house results: crea 40, urea 12.5, PCV 30%
Back into normal ranges now, owner reports that Poco is eating ++, no vomiting or diarrheoa, and running around well. Adv. To have a quick recheck at end of clav as may need an extended course
Blood
12 May - 2009 16:21
ALB = 25 g/L
ALKP = 86 U/L
ALT = 522 U/L
UREA > 46.4 mmol/L
CREA - -- umol/L
TP = 72 g/L
GLOB = 47 g/L
13 May - 2009 10:48
UREA = 15.7 mmol/L
CREA = 47 umol/L
PHOS = 1.79 mmol/L
16 May - 2009 09;53
Urea = 12.5 mmol/L
Crea = 40 umol/L
--- In ferrethealth@yahoogroups.com, Sukie Crandall <sukie@...> wrote:
>
> Did all of the ones who survived have rapid stool passage soon after
> symptoms? It read like that to me: some of the survivors had furball
> preparations and one had diarrhea. It so, that might indicate a toxin
> that was passed more rapidly by those ferrets, so it got out of them
> before harm could be done. Just a guess of one possibility...
>
> I noticed that your own vet suggested that a problem with a toxin may
> be possible and retained specimens of liver and kidney to test for that.
>
> Also noticed that the pathologist wrote:
>
> > Overall, there are no histopathological features to indicate a
> > specific disease process or obvious cause of death in this animal.
> > There is no evidence to suggest viral infection e.g. distemper, or
> > other systemic infectious agents. As per the gross necropsy report
> > fresh tissue has been retained should further investigation be
> > required e.g., toxicology...
>
> Also, I notice that you have been feeding raw; have you checked for
> recalls?
>
> The rodents may or may not have had the same cause; rodents and
> members are carnivora are not very related (in fact, rodents are
> closer taxonomically to us primates) so there are not a huge number of
> diseases that they share.
>
> This does make me wonder if there might possibly be a poisoning
> situation going on, either accidental, or perhaps similar to one that
> happened when I was going up where a neighbor (in this case a child
> but his father and mother weren't much better, ditto a friend of
> theirs) went around poisoning neighborhood pets. The large ones
> didn't get enough to die, but the small ones did.
>
> I noticed that they asked specifically if snail bait had been used
> locally, and it wasn't, but that does not discount the possibility of
> someone who badly needs help doing this purposely without your
> knowledge or of other toxins, I am afraid. That is a concept none of
> us ever want to consider, and perhaps why it took a while to discover
> why pets were dying in our neighborhood when I was young.
>
>
>
>
> 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
>
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