Hi,
I am a nurse with a pediatric background and this question interested
me quite a bit.  I started doing research and found that ferrets have
been used in the human study of pertussis (whooping cough,) however,
they did not receive the toxin by natural means.
 
I did not find one case of naturally obtained pertussis in ferrets,
however, since there are many secondary infections that come with this
disease ie: pnemonia, that is where the concern must lie.
 
If there is any suspect that ferrets have come from a house infected with
pertussis, I think it would be prudent to separate them for a period of
at least 3 weeks just to rule out any secondary infections.  If a
volunteer works anywhere where communicablity is high, they can either
ask their doctor for a dose of antibiotic (E-mycin works well) or wear
a mask, along with your normal preventive care, when dealing with your
ferrets.
 
I hope that helps
 
Debbi ;c)
[Posted in FML issue 5236]