Clinical signs appear four to nine days post-exposure and begin with depression, lethargy, anorexia and vomiting. Watery diarrhea develops and often includes mucofibrinous casts that are yellow, green, pink or grey, depending on the amount of bile present. Currently, only inactivated MVE vaccines are available commercially. Maternal antibodies prevent effective immunization and the immune status of the mother must be considered when vaccinating kits. However, if wintertime vaccination or exposure to live pathogenic virus of older mink have occurred, vaccination will probably not be effective until 12-13 weeks of age.
Annual vaccination is recommended for mink kept as breeders.
It was first recognized in farm-raised mink of the Aleutian genotype, but it was later found that all genetic types were susceptible. AD is characterized by hypergammaglobulinemia and immune complex mediated vasculitis, glomerulonephritis and interstitial pneumonitis in young mink. Signs include gradual weight loss, thirst, anorexia, blood at the mouth and uremia. At autopsy, the kidneys may be hemorrhagic, or swollen and pale with petechia, or shrunken and pitted. The spleen and lymph nodes are usually enlarged.