Ferret: Difference between revisions

Because they share many anatomical and physiological features with humans, ferrets are extensively used as [[animal testing|experimental subjects]] in biomedical research. Fields such as virology, reproductive physiology, anatomy, endocrinology and neuroscience have all studiedrely on ferrets,<ref>{{cite web |last1=Crawford |first1=Richard L. |last2=Adams |first2=Kristina M. |date=2006 |url=http://www.nal.usda.gov/awic/pubs/Ferrets06/ferrets.htm |title=Information Resources on the Care and Welfare of Ferrets |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110213092535/http://www.nal.usda.gov/awic/pubs/Ferrets06/ferrets.htm |archive-date=2011-02-13 |publisher=USDA Animal Welfare Information Center}}</ref> includingfor studies into [[cardiovascular disease]], nutrition, respiratory diseases such as [[SARS]] and human influenza, airway physiology,<ref>{{Cite journal |pmid=19136404 |year=2009 |last1=Abanses |first1=J. C. |title=Vicks Vapo ''Rub'' induces mucin secretion, decreases ciliary beat frequency, and increases tracheal mucus transport in the ferret trachea |journal=Chest |volume=135 |issue=1 |pages=143–8 |last2=Arima |first2=S |last3=Rubin |first3=B. K.|doi=10.1378/chest.08-0095}}</ref> cystic fibrosis and gastrointestinal disease.

Ferrets are a particularly important animal model for human [[influenza]],<ref name="Matsuoka2009">{{Cite book |doi=10.1002/9780471729259.mc15g02s13|pmid=19412910|chapter=The Ferret Model for Influenza|pages={{awrap|15G.2.1–15G1}}–{{awrap|15G.2.29}}|year=2009|last1=Matsuoka |first1=Y. |last2=Lamirande |first2=E. W. |last3=Subbarao |first3=K. |title=Current Protocols in Microbiology|isbn=978-0471729259|s2cid=43613423}}</ref><ref name="Maher2004">{{cite journal|vauthors=Maher JA, DeStefano J |title=The ferret: an animal model to study influenza virus |journal=Lab Animal|year=2004|volume=33|issue=9|pages=50–53|pmid=15457202|doi=10.1038/laban1004-50|citeseerx=10.1.1.632.711 |s2cid=30541775 }}</ref> and have been used to study the 2009 H1N1 ([[swine flu]]) virus.<ref name="van2010">{{Cite journal |doi=10.1086/651132|pmid=20187747|title=Severity of Pneumonia Due to New H1N1 Influenza Virus in Ferrets is Intermediate between That Due to Seasonal H1N1 Virus and Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza H5N1 Virus|journal=Journal of Infectious Diseases|volume=201|issue=7|pages=993–9|year=2010|last1=Van Den Brand |first1=J. M. A. |last2=Stittelaar |first2=K. J. |last3=Van Amerongen |first3=G. |last4=Rimmelzwaan |first4=G. F. |last5=Simon |first5=J. |last6=De Wit |first6=E. |last7=Munster |first7=V. |last8=Bestebroer |first8=T. |last9=Fouchier |first9=R. A. M. |last10=Kuiken |first10=T. |last11=Osterhaus |first11=A. D. M. E. |pmc=7110095|doi-access=free }}</ref> Ferrets inoculated intra-nasally with human naso-pharyngeal washes develop an influenza transmissible to other cage mates and human investigators.{{sfn|Smith|Andrews|Laidlaw|1933}} A very small experimental study of ferrets found that a nasal spray effectively blocked the transmission of the [[SARS-CoV-2]] [[coronavirus]] that causes [[COVID-19]].<ref>{{cite news |last=McNeil | first=Donald G. Jr. |title=Nasal Spray Halts Covid in Ferrets, Study Finds |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2020/11/05/health/coronavirus-ferrets-vaccine-spray.html |access-date=6 November 2020 |work=[[The New York Times]] |date=6 November 2020 |archive-date=6 November 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201106002935/https://www.nytimes.com/2020/11/05/health/coronavirus-ferrets-vaccine-spray.html |url-status=live }}</ref>{{needs update}}