Turtles Still Causing Salmonella Outbreaks
Exposure to small turtles caused a salmonella outbreak that sickened 107 people in 34 states 2007 and 2008, according to a new study published in a medical journal.
Many of the people sickened by the potentially fatal illness were children, and the median age was 7 years, according to “Continuing Risk of Salmonellosis From Small Turtles: Multistate Outbreak of Salmonella Infections Associated With Small Turtle Exposure, 2007-2008,” published in the November issue of Pediatrics, the peer-reviewed scientific journal of the American Academy of Pediatrics (Elk Grove Village, Ill.).
Researchers interviewed 78 patients or the parents of those diagnosed with salmonella during the outbreak. Of those, 33 percent required hospitalization and 60 percent reported exposure to a turtle during the week before their illness. Most had interacted with small turtles—those with carapaces less than 4 inches long.
The United States has banned the sale of turtles that size and smaller since 1975 because of salmonella risks.
Despite the ban, small turtles continue to be sold domestically, said the report’s authors. [December 2009 PET AGE]
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