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]