Well-characterized mammalian models to study extraocular spread following ocular inoculation with influenza virus have been limited to the mouse [20] . The ferret, widely used to study influenza pathogenesis and transmission following intranasal inoculation, has also been recognized as an appropriate experimental model for studies involving the visual system [21] [22] [23] . A previous study demonstrated H7N3 virus replication in nasal, ocular, and rectal tissue following ocular inoculation in ferrets, but did not comprehensively examine the ability of multiple subtypes to use the eye as a portal of entry or examine virus transmissibility following inoculation by this route [24] .