The ferret coronavirus is a coronavirus which infects

ferrets The ferret (''Mustela furo'') is a small, domesticated species belonging to the family Mustelidae. The ferret is most likely a domesticated form of the wild European polecat (''Mustela putorius''), evidenced by their interfertility. Other muste ...

and is a strain of the species '' Mink coronavirus 1''. The first cases in ferrets were detected in March 1993 in the east coast of the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

. It was previously known as Green Slime Disease. The illness is highly contagious among ferrets, has a short incubation period, and has a mortality rate of about 5 percent. Symptoms include

diarrhea Diarrhea, also spelled diarrhoea, is the condition of having at least three loose, liquid, or watery bowel movements each day. It often lasts for a few days and can result in dehydration due to fluid loss. Signs of dehydration often begin w ...

and intestinal damage. Less pronounced symptoms are bloody stools,

dehydration In physiology, dehydration is a lack of total body water, with an accompanying disruption of metabolic processes. It occurs when free water loss exceeds free water intake, usually due to exercise, disease, or high environmental temperature. Mil ...

lethargy Lethargy is a state of tiredness, sleepiness, weariness, fatigue, sluggishness or lack of energy. It can be accompanied by depression, decreased motivation, or apathy. Lethargy can be a normal response to inadequate sleep, overexertion, overwo ...

weight loss Weight loss, in the context of medicine, health, or physical fitness, refers to a reduction of the total body mass, by a mean loss of fluid, body fat ( adipose tissue), or lean mass (namely bone mineral deposits, muscle, tendon, and other co ...

, and weakness. The reason that this disease is sometimes referred to as Green Slime Disease is that Green Slime Disease causes stool to turn dark green and fluorescent. There are two types of ferret coronavirus. These are ferret enteric coronavirus and ferret systemic coronavirus.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q57773822 Alphacoronaviruses