Yes, that can happen, though often the people are allergic to something
ON the ferret like a deodorizing spray, litter fragments, treat oil,
etc.

When people become inflamed after a scratch that typically is just
because of waste and litter caught in claws which entered the wound.

That there are people who are truly allergic to ferrets is well known
and documented, though it is rare compared to dig, cat, or bird
allergies. The most serious allergies (such as anaphylactic reactions)
typically are in people who also are allergic to cats who have been
exposed to whole male ferrets (or sometimes to ferrets with adrenal
disease). Some then can have it generalize to other ferrets. Of
course, there simply are people who are allergic to any ferrets, too,
especially after many exposures. If you search you will find a medical
paper on a man who survived a particularly nasty anaphylactic reaction
to a ferret. It predates much of the PubMed content, though, so may not
be there.

We have not had need of it so I don't personally have records of it
but in past issues of the Ferret Mailing List someone has told of a
laboratory which can custom make serum for allergy shots or allergy
SLIT treatment (Sublingual Immunotherapy). The URL of the FML Archives
is in the header of each day's FML and also in my sig lines.

Sukie (not a vet)

Recommended ferret health links:
http://pets.groups.yahoo.com/group/ferrethealth/
http://ferrethealth.org/archive/
http://www.afip.org/ferrets/index.html
http://www.miamiferret.org/
http://www.ferrethealth.msu.edu/
http://www.ferretcongress.org/
http://www.trifl.org/index.shtml
http://homepage.mac.com/sukie/sukiesferretlinks.html
all ferret topics:
http://listserv.ferretmailinglist.org/archives/ferret-search.html

"All hail the procrastinators for they shall rule the world tomorrow."
(2010, Steve Crandall)

[Posted in FML 6570]