A worrying concern for US ferret owners – new rabies virus
Monday, May 18th, 2009 at
11:13 pm
I came across an article in the National Geographic News which talked about a new, fast-evolving rabies virus which has recently been discovered.
The thing which worried me most was that it had become contagious amongst the skunk population and, as we know, skunks are almost, but not quite, related to our ferrets.
The thing which makes this rabies virus different is that fact that it seems to be passing from animal to animal through simple socialising, not through biting and scratching.
In the past if a rabid animal bit another animal, both would die from the virus so the virus had less chance of spreading. However with this strain, it seems like it gets transmitted almost like the flu virus – just passively being passed from one animal to another.
I know that some ferrets can have adverse reactions to the rabies vaccination but I do urge all my American ferret friends to make sure that their pets’ vaccinations are up-to-date so that there is no risk of them ever catching this dreadful disease!
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Tagged with: Ferrets as Pets
Filed under: Ferrets as Pets
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JC – I *think* you would only have to be worried if one of your babies escaped and came nose-to-nose with a rabid skunk in the woods. But yes, it would be best to ask your vet if you should be concerned about it.
I’m sorry – I didn’t mean to put the wind up everyone. I just thought the article was something that ferret owners should be aware of!
I haven’t had Muis vaccinated against canine distemper since her Insulinoma was diagnosed – I figure that since all my ferrets stay inside and don’t come across strange dogs, she should be okay. I hope I’m right
Oh Great !!! Now I'm worried about my poor Zoie !!! She hasn't been vaccinated for the past two years, Mostly because she's been so sick off & On. In these parts skunks are plentful. Their in my back yard all the time. I will ask the vet about this for sure. Thanks for posting it. Hugs to your gang JC
Sorry Sunny, I tried to find out if this new strain means a new rabies vaccination is necessary for ferrets but couldn’t find anything before I posted the article.
Hopefully your vet will be able to advise if the current vaccination is still okay or not.
I am so glad we don’t have a rabies problem on our (very large) island! Just one less problem to fret about!!
Holy crap! I’m almost afraid to click your link [but I will, because the more information the better]. How did I not hear about this earlier?
My concern, if this is a newer, faster type of rabies–are we sure the current vaccine safe-guards completely against it?
Okay, well. Here I go off to read.