14/09/2022
Pet turtles purchased online have given 15 people salmonella in 11 US states, according to the Center for Disease Control (CDC).
Usually, more common sources of infection are through food, like raw chicken, but this time it’s contact with mini reptiles that has led to an outbreak.
People infected with the bacteria develop diarrhoea, fever and stomach cramps within six hours to six days of being exposed. The illness lasts between four to seven days and most of those infected this time were children.
After speaking to ill people and doing laboratory tests, the CDC determined that turtles bought from the internet with shells less than 4 inches (10cm) were causing the infection.
The sale of these tiny reptiles as pets was banned in the US more than 40 years ago because they were known to spread salmonella through their droppings, water from their tanks or even simply people touching them and not washing their hands. In the early 1970s, there were an estimated 280,000 infections every year, mostly in small children.
