Pet Turtles Blamed For Salmonella In Children

In as many as 34 states, there has been an outbreak of .salmonella. The main cause has been due to pet turtles being handled by children.

There has been a ban since 1975 on selling small turtles as pets, but despite the ban, they're continuing to be sold illegally all across the country. The American Veterinary Medical Association estimates that the number of pet turtles has doubled nationwide from 950,000 in 1996 to approximately 2 million in 2006.

The original reason for the ban was the findings that concluded salmonella in turtle feces can end up on the turtle's shells and bodies, and it can spread to people who handle them. The outbreak is thought to originate from the vast majortiy of turtles being shipped together, and it only takes one turtle to spread this so quickly.

The majority of these turtles carrying the salmonella strain were sold in pet stores, flea markets, street vendors, and customers buying turtles online. The Food and Drug Administration has contacted several retailers involved and their investigation is still in progress. They are making efforts on both state and federal levels to make the ban known nationwide to protect the public's health.

The recent scare started in September 2007, in North Carolina, when two young girls were swimming in a backyard pool with two pet turtles. Both girls started having symptoms such as, bloody diarrhea, vomiting, fever, and stomach cramps. One of the girls also developed kidney failure and spent 8 days in the hospital.

Eventually, the salmonella bacteria found in the pet turtles was traced to 3 other North Carolina children and eventually more cases turned up across the country. Apparently, some of the children were kissing the turtles and even putting them in their mouths.

This article is very disturbing to me. However, I'm so thankful the media is trying to get this information out there. I don' t know if anyone out there has a pet turtle, but if so, you might want to do some research of your own. It does help to know that a professor from the University of Illinois has taken the initiative to consult with Louisiana turtle farmers in order to make a way to raise salmonella free turtles.

One effort has been made to cleanse the turtle eggs with antibiotics. The only problem they found with this is a possible antibiotic-resistant bacteria. However, another attempt to resolve this issue is to cleanse the eggs with disinfectants similar to bleach. At least there are efforts being made to prevent this from going any further. Hopefully they will find a solution to the problem soon. Possibly there will be more done to prevent salmonella and other strains in our food as well, or maybe the Food and Drug Administration will be more apt to pursue the prevention of outbreaks such as these.