18 Jul 2008

Vaccine Offers Hope for Endangered Ferrets

Endangered black-footed ferrets, like children, aren't exactly lining up to be stuck with a vaccine, but in an effort to help control an extensive outbreak of plague in South Dakota, some of the ferrets are getting dosed with a vaccine given by biologists. This is the first time the vaccine has been used during a major plague epizootic-an animal version of a human epidemic. Sylvatic plague is an infectious bacterial disease commonly transmitted from animal to animal by fleas. This exotic disease is commonly deadly for black-footed ferrets and their primary prey, prairie dogs. Black-footed ferrets are one of the rarest mammals in North America........

Comments are closed.