Herps in the News: MAKE SURE YOU WASH YOUR HANDS

This article “Salmonellosis caused by small amphibians still a health risk for children” was published on March 8, 2012 by the ModernMedicine Contemporary Pediatrics staff (see source 1 link for article). The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has been examining Salmonella enterica outbreaks that have been seen in patients with an average age of 6 years from exposure to turtles. Obviously, none of these MD’s took herpetology because the article is about exposure to turtles which are not amphibians! This on-going investigation is looking at 132 reported cases of salmonella in 18 different states from August 2010 to September 2011. In 1975, the U.S. FDA and CDC outlawed the sale of turtles with shells measuring less than 4 inches wide, however this has not stopped them from being sold and in this current investigation fourteen of the turtles from patient’s homes were legally too small to have been purchased (1). Salmonella is a bacterium that causes the infection salmonellosis that is usually confined to the intestines. An American scientist named Salmon discovered this common cause of foodborne illness that many people call “food poisoning.” Humans will contract salmonella through contact or feces contaminated food usually beef, poultry, milk, or eggs, but really any food or water source is susceptible. Food becomes contaminated if the preparer did not wash their hands thoroughly after using the restroom or if contaminated food is not thoroughly cooked. Pets may carry salmonella and humans are at risk if they do not thoroughly wash their hands after handling pets or pet feces. Reptiles, turtles, birds (chicks and ducks), and amphibians are the most likely pets to carry Salmonella. Salmonella can cause diarrhea, fever, nausea, vomiting, headaches, and abdominal cramps, but does not usually require treatment. Infants, young children, the elderly, pregnant women, and the immunocomprised are considered at-risk patients because the problems caused by prolonged diarrhea. Although uncommon, a patient may develop Reiter’s syndrome which is associated with joint pain, eye irritation, painful urination that can last months to years even leading to chronic arthritis, and with this syndrome antibiotics are not affective (2). It is recommended that households or childcare centers with children under the age of 5 do not have pet turtles and that children this young should not handle these animals. The intended audience of this article are pediatricians and this article was listed under the “for advisory” section. I think that the authors appropriately addressed their audience and did not exhibit bias but they should have checked their facts a little more. I did some more research and learned that around 3% have a reptilian pet and that 70,000 people get salmonellosis from reptiles each year in the U.S.  The CDC recommends the following for preventing the transmission of Salmonella from reptiles or amphibians by:
·         Wash hands thoroughly (sing Happy Birthday) with warm, soapy water washing in between the fingers and underneath fingernails
·         Pet-store owners, health-care providers, and veterinarians should educated people on how to prevent getting salmonellosis from pets
·         At-risk persons should avoid contact with reptiles, turtles, amphibians
·         Do not have pet reptiles, amphibians, turtles in households or childcare centers with person under the age of 5
·         Do not let pet reptile, amphibian, or turtles roam freely in a home
·         Keep pet reptiles, amphibians, or turtles out of food preparation areas and do not use kitchen sinks to clean cages, pet dishes, or aquariums
·         In animal-contact areas at zoos or aquariums make sure that food is not brought into the area and that there is adequate hand-washing stations (3)

In a report on these recent outbreaks from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, recommendations for decreasing of salmonella cases in humans are to

·         Increase the enforcement of current legislation against the sale of turtles with shells less than 4 inches wide (the reasoning is that small turtles can fit in children’s mouth easier)
·         Make the penalties for the sale of these turtles more strict
·         Increase the number of state and local laws that control turtles sales (4)

Before reading this article, I had no idea that it was illegal to buy small turtles or that they posed such a disease risk. I also thought it was interesting that reptiles, amphibians, and turtles can carry salmonella, but according to “Animal contact as a source of non-typhoidal salmonellosis” by Hoelzer, Switt, and Weidmann from Veterinary Research only occasionally has a salmonella infection been seen in the actual animals and they are considered asymptomatic. This study claims that 90% of all captive pet reptiles carry salmonella (5). Therefore, everyone wash your hands thoroughly after contacting reptiles, amphibians, and turtles!

References

(1)   http://www.modernmedicine.com/modernmedicine/ModernMedicine+Now/Salmonellosis-caused-by-small-amphibians-still-a-h/ArticleStandard/Article/detail/763704?contextCategoryId=40137
(2)   http://www.cdc.gov/salmonella/index.html
(3)   http://www.cdc.gov/healthypets/animals/reptiles.htm
(4)   http://www.healthfinder.gov/news/newsstory.aspx?Docid=661405
(5)   http://www.veterinaryresearch.org/content/42/1/34