Yours a most interesting discussion of Tigger's parasitic worm; it is known
as the guinea worm and its name ( a mouthful to say the least) means the
little dragon of Medina.  It is an important parasite of man too, with some
48,000,000 infections of man.  Guinea worms are known to infect raccoons,
mink, dogs and a few other animals in the USA and in Brazil.  In eastern
Texas they are very common in the hind feet of raccoons.  The guinea worm
has an intermediate host known as the cyclops in which the larvae feed and
molt twice in the body cavity of the water borne cyclops.  People or
animals drinking or being wetted by such water are infected in their
subcutaneous skin and ulcers are formed at the entrance points of the
guinea worms.
 
The guinea worm is said to have one of the neatest adaptations in behavior
in all the realm of biology, enabling a blind burrowing worm to give her
aquatic cyclops-inhabiting offspring a fair chance of life even on the
desert.
 
For a ferret to be infected with the guinea worm would imply that the
ferret has been wetted in a cyclops infested puddle of water or has drunk
such water.  Please be aware that if the worm gets into your body from
your ferret, the health consequences could be dangerous and possibly fatal
unless properly treated.
 
For your benefit you may want to research the life history of this worm
in most any text on parasitology.  See Asa C. Chandler, M.S., Ph.D.
 
Edward Lipinski,  Ferret Endowment for Research, Rehabilitation,
Education & Training Society, NW.
 
[Moderator's note: For those wondering, yes, there really is such a
parasite!  BIG]
[Posted in FML issue 2723]