According to an article written for The American Ferret Report by Dr.
Williams Sager, Littleton Animal Hospital, ferrets are susceptible to M.
bovis, M. avium, and M. tuberculosis.  People can be susceptible to these
strains of the disease as well.  I do not know which strain rats carry.
 
For more information about diseases shared among different species of pets
and among pets and humans, read Dr. Sager's article at
http://www.ferret.org/95zoonotic.pdf.
 
Lori Barber
Managing Editor
The American Ferret Report
www.ferret.org
E-mail: [log in to unmask] or [log in to unmask]
[Posted in FML issue 2655]