Quoting from Dr. Bruce Williams' comments in the Ferret FAQ:
 
Dr. Bruce Williams, DVM, says:
 
    Toxoplasmosis has been reported twice in ferrets.  Ferrets will not
    shed the toxoplasma organism to the extent that cats do, but if they
    are exposed to cat feces, they may contract the disease and shed
    very low amounts of oocysts.
 
    Here's the bottom line.  Because of the devastating effects that
    Toxoplasma can have on a developing human fetus in the first
    trimester - you don't want to take ANY chance at all on exposing [a
    pregnant woman] to Toxo.  So [someone in the household who isn't
    pregnant] inherits all litterbox duties for the next nine months.
    Actually, she probably stands a higher chance of getting Toxo from
    poorly cooked beef.  The doctor says - if she's a carnivore - better
    get used to well- done steaks....
 
Another brief comment from Dr. Williams, printed in the reference material
he handed out at a presentation he did to a county veterinary association
meeting in San Antonio, Texas, in October of 1997(?), with the title
Diseases of the Domestic Ferret:
 
    (Note- Fungal spores, an incidental finding in ferret feces, are
    occasionally diagnosed as oocysts of Toxoplasma gondii.  T. gondii
    has rarely been reported in ferrets, but does not have an intestinal
    cycle with oocyst production.)"
 
A similar document appears on the website:
http://www.afip.org/ferrets/ferret.path.html, but I guess it to be a
slightly older version than the printed one I have.  The one on the website
lacks the mention of Toxoplasmosis that my copy has.  I suppose these two
quotes could be considered contradictory, but they both seem to indicate
toxo in ferrets is a remote possibility.
 
I've owned ferrets for several years and last year finally had a baby.  My
husband cleaned the litterboxes and accidents from the time we knew I was
pregnant.  The greatest risk is is a woman contracts toxo in the first
trimester of pregnancy as this is when the organism can do the greatest
damage to the unborn child.  Possible effects include low birthweight,
fever, jaundice, seizures, vision problems, retardation, miscarriage or
stillbirth.  Pretty severe.
 
However, the risk from ferrets is smaller than that from cats, and the risk
from cats actually smaller than from eating undercooked meat.  The disease
is contracted from contact with fecal matter containing toxo oocytes or
consuming infected undercooked meat.  If your pets don't eat raw meats and
aren't allowed to roam outside, they are unlikely to have the disease.  An
article on BabyCenter.com says about 30% of American women are completely
immune, and many others had the disease previously and have developed an
immunity.  There are antibody titer tests available that will tell you if
you have antibodies already (possibility of effective immune response if
re-exposed) but that is no guarantee.  The same site says 1 in 10,000
babies are born with severe congenital toxoplasmosis.  This is smaller
than the risk of Down Syndrome or spina bifida.
 
Take reasonable precautions (gloves or others on cleaning duty), don't let
the ferret lick you in the face, wash hands after handling the ferrets,
and do without rare meats (I suffered because I can't stand my steak done
enough to be really safe).  Don't think you must give up your ferrets.
The risk is truly small (my OB nor my pediatrician were concerned), but
avoidance of the greatest chances of exposure are easy, so why not avoid
them?  You need to put your feet up to reduce swelling anyway!
 
Hope that helps,
 
Debra in Fort Worth
 
[P.S.]
Another quick note:
Forgot to mention raw eggs as a potential source of infection.  Also, just
saw an article from last May where a European study showed that treating
the mother for toxo infection had no discernable impact on the outcome of
the disease in the fetus.  If that study is truly valid, that adds weight
to the decision to take those simple precautions.
 
Debra in Fort Worth
[Posted in FML issue 2920]