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A study run by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has recently completed and it’s quite revealing about the cause of the 2007 and 2008 outbreak of Salmonella in the US.  The study looked at some 107 reported cases of the virus starting with the case of two girls who came down with Salmonella after swimming in a pool with their pet turtles.  Lessen learned right off the bat….don’t swim with pet turtles!

Seriously though, these two girls came down with a very bad case of Salmonella.  Both of them developed bloody diarrhoea, vomiting, fever and stomach cramps and one girl developed kidney failure spending eight days in the hospital.

This particular strain of Salmonella was traced to three other cases of children getting sick in the same state of North Carolina.  From here more and more people came down with the bacteria until it became the largest Salmonella outbreak in US history.

Many of the causes of this bacterial infection found by the report related to common sense issues.  Children and young people having unsanitary contact with their pet turtles lead to much of the infection.  There were examples of contact with the same water used by the turtles, putting turtles into their mouths, and kissing pet turtles.  It’s also strongly recommended that pet owners wash their hands after handling, feeding or cleaning the cages of pet turtles.

As part of the study the CDC contacted retailers in the local area and are also in contact with those places believed to be involved with selling the turtles.  The infected turtles came from pet shops, flea markets, online websites and street vendors.

The report appears in October’s, Paediatrics, a journal released today.  It states of the situation, ‘Continued, collective efforts are needed, both on state and federal levels, to enforce the ban and protect public health.

Source: ‘Study Detail’s Largest Salmonella Outbreak linked to Pet Turtles’, Tanner, Lindsey, and The Associated Press appearing in Chronicle-Telegram, Oct. 19^th 2009