| Owners of ferrets advised to use care as flu season begins
By
Carol McAlice Currie
Statesman Journal
October 22,
2009
A ferret in Oregon is recovering after state and national laboratory tests
confirmed the companion animal has pandemic influenza H1N1, also known as swine
flu.
The state is not disclosing the name of the companion
animal or its owners, but said the weakened ferret was taken to a Portland-area
veterinary hospital earlier this month with an elevated body temperature. It
also was sneezing and coughing.
The attending Portland veterinarian consulted with
Dr. Emilio DeBess, the state's public health veterinarian, because the ferret's
owner reported having had the flu.
The two vets opted to have the ferret's nasal secretions
tested at Oregon State University's Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory because
ferrets, unlike dogs and
cats, are vulnerable to some influenza viruses.
The OSU lab initially diagnosed the ferret with pandemic
influenza H1H1, and it was confirmed Oct. 9 by the National Veterinary Services
Laboratories, a division of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, in Ames, Iowa.
Dr. Don Hansen, the state's veterinarian, said this
probably is the state's first reported ferret case, but quickly added that
it is not unique.
"Nor is it a need for panic. This is a case of people
making their ferrets sick, not the other way around," Hansen said. "It is not
transmitted ferret to ferret. People with flu symptoms who have pet ferrets
and handle them, should be aware they can make their pet sick."
In this case, the Oregon Veterinary Medical Association
reports on its Web site that the state believes the human owner transmitted
the virus to her ferret. The owner and family members had had flu symptoms,
but the humans were not tested for the H1N1 virus.
Hansen urges ferret owners to be cautious as the flu
season begins because the animals are generally susceptible to influenza A
viruses, under which H1N1 is classified.
Neither dogs or cats appear vulnerable to H1N1 at
this time, Hansen said, though dogs can develop canine influenza, which is
not thought to be transmissible to humans.
There is no flu vaccine for domestic animals such
as ferrets, but Rocky Baker, virology lab supervisor for the OSU vet lab, said
most of the animal cases the lab has been dealing with recently are bird and
swine related.
"We have not had a lot of companion animals at all," Baker
said. |
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